This isn’t my original idea. I read an article a long time ago in Bon Appetit magazine. When I got into growing dried beans, I couldn’t find the magazine. Sure enough I did a google search and found the 2016 article online.  This is a game changer. I can’t tell you how many times I forgot to soak the pinto beans the night before Taco Tuesday at our house.
Quantity:
Don’t forget dried beans double in size when cooked so one cup of dried beans will give you approximately 2 cups of cooked beans.
Quick Soak Steps:
1) Put the beans in a pot and cover with water,
2) Bring to a boil,
3) Turn down the heat and simmer for a few minutes, and
4) Take the pot off the heat, put a lid on it and let the beans soak for an hour.
Cooking Steps:
1) Add some water if needed so that there is a few inches of water above the beans,
2) Bring them to a simmer,
3) Add herbs and aromatics such as onions, shallots, peppers (sweet or hot) and garlic,
4) Simmer partly covered for several hours until the beans are tender – the amount of time for this step varies depending on the type and size of the bean,
5) Use a fork to see if they are tender,
6) Add salt, pepper, and something acidic like tomatoes, lemon juice, lime juice, and
7) Simmer for a little bit longer and you are done!
8) If you made too many, don’t forget you can freeze them!
In a future post, we will talk about what aromatics, herbs and something acidic to add for the different types of dried beans.
