I’ve had beans on the brain lately, and I don’t know why. Maybe it’s reading about flexitarians. Maybe it’s Lent, and thinking about how Catholics observed it pre-Vatican II. Maybe it’s because they make tasty soups that are easy to make in bulk and freeze.
Great Vegetarian Cooking Under Pressure piqued my interest in heirloom beans, in particular. Not that there’s anything wrong with the bag of Goya black beans from the supermarket, of course. I just wanted to see what all of the fuss was about! So I sucked it up and ordered a couple of bags of beans from Rancho Gordo.
I’ll be honest. Beautiful as those beans were, they mocked me from my pantry for several weeks before I got around to trying them out. Dried beans may be inexpensive, healthy and delicious, but they do require advance planning. And advance planning is hard! But one Thursday night not too long ago, I decided it was time to try the beans out. So I grabbed a bag of white tepary beans from the cabinet, rinsed and sorted them (to look for any rocks or dirt) and set them to soak overnight in plenty of cold water. I soaked the whole bag. No messing around with a cup of dried beans for me, no sir. If I was going to go to the trouble of making soup, I was going to make a potful!
When dinnertime rolled around on Friday night, I didn’t exactly have a plan. But I did have a cabbage. And some potatoes. So I cruised the internet for ideas. 101 Cookbooks’ Rustic Cabbage Soup inspired, but I had two problems: First, my beans were dried (though soaked), not canned, and second, I was hungry as all get-out. Solution? Pressure cooker!
I brought the beans to pressure (with several inches of water and a splash of olive oil) in my cooker, and then cooked them for 8 minutes, then removed them from the heat and let the pressure come down naturally for a while (which is supposed to preserve the beans’ skins). In the meantime, I sliced up half a cabbage and some carrots and onions, cubed my potatoes and diced some garlic. When my veggies were ready to go, I released the remaining pressure from the cooker, opened it up, and stirred in my pile of veggies, together with about a teaspoon of caraway seeds and a tablespoon of veggie better than bullion. Then I brought the pressure cooker up to pressure again for two minutes and released the pressure quickly under cold water in my sink.
And that was it! Well, maybe I added some salt and pepper to taste. Before serving, I stirred in about a teaspoon of cider vinegar to brighten up the flavors a bit, then drizzled on some olive oil and grated parmesan, served with a crusty roll from The Vinegar Factory. Total time to table, about 40 minutes. (You could surely accomplish this without the pressure cooker — the beans would probably take around 60-90 minutes to cook, and you could add the veggies in for the last 10 minutes of cooking or so.)
This soup is mild and comforting, great for the last winter nights of March. The tepary beans are fantastic — creamy, soft and sweet and highly recommended. Any white bean would serve in this recipe, though dried beans will probably hold up better than canned. It’s hard to argue with the age-old combo of cabbage and potatoes, either. But perhaps the best part is the three containers of soup I have hanging out in my freezer for the next time I come home from work tired and hungry. Doesn’t soup always taste better heated up the next time?
Clacked by Molly B.
on Mar 11, 2009 @ 10:00 EST5EDT
