Recipes for dried beans Let's Hear Them!!! (carrots, vegetarian, asafoetida)

[DontH8Me]

I have never heard of bird egg beans - might you be referring to pinto beans? They are spotty like bird's eggs, so I am guessing?

[TampaKaren]

I make a soup with mixed dried beans.

You will need:
1 lb of beans
1 lb of ham, ham hock, or smoked sausage sliced into bite-sized pieces (I sometimes buy the cheap sliced sandwich ham; it works just as well)
1 cup onion, chopped
1 15 oz can stewed tomatoes
1 tsp chili powder
Juice of one lemon
1-2 cloves garlic, minced

Place rinsed beans in a pot with 3 quarts water
Brink to a rapid boil. Reduce heat, cover and continue boiling 1 hour
Add remaining ingredients and simmer for 30-45 minutes.
Salt and pepper to taste.

Serve with additional chopped onion and hot sauce.
Goes great with corn muffins, rolls, or crackers.

[buckhead]

...here is a lentil recipe that I make. It is based on family recipes tweaked a bit based upon similar Middle Eastern versions of this dish.




Soups, Stews, and Chowders 674 (Lentil Stew 04 – Mejadra 03)


½ cup brown lentils
½ cup long grain brown rice, rinsed
3 cups water
½ cup onion, sliced
¼ cup carrot, chopped finely
¼ cup celery, chopped finely
½ teaspoon whole or ground cumin
2 tablespoons olive oil (more if necessary)
salt and ground black pepper to ta
garlic clove, minced
chili pepper, fresh or dried, chopped fine (optional)
4 pinches of cinnamon, ground (or to taste)
2 pinches of cloves, ground
4 cardamom pods, broken and crushed (or ground cardamom)
coriander, ground (optional)
sweet pepper, chopped (optional)

1. Pick over the lentils to remove any foreign objects, rinse in water and allow them to soak for about an hour. Drain the lentils.
2. In a skillet, sauté the onion, carrots, celery, and (optional) sweet pepper in the olive oil for 2 or 3 minutes. Remove the cooked vegetables to a 2 to 3 quart pot with cover.
3. Add the rice to the skillet, plus additional oil if necessary, and then sauté it for a short time to toast the outside, but do not let it burn. Remove the rice to the pot with the vegetables.
4. Add the lentils to the skillet, again adding more oil if necessary, and then sauté them for a short time to toast the outside, but do not let them burn. Remove them to the pot with the vegetables and rice.
5. Add the water and other ingredients, bring to a boil, and then simmer, covered, for 40 minutes to an hour. Check it and stir occasionally; add more water if needed. The final product should have some liquid but should not be very soupy. It is finished when the rice and lentils are both no longer crunchy.

VARIATIONS: Use Parmesan cheese as a garnish. Sauté some chopped onion quickly in oil until it browns (a slight burning is good) then add some chopped garlic and continue cooking for another 30 seconds; stir the onions and garlic into some plain yogurt and use as a garnish. The cumin, cardamom, chili pepper, cloves, cinnamon, black pepper, sweet pepper may also be sautéed briefly in some butter or oil in a skillet before adding to the pot to enhance their flavor.

[seattlerain]

Originally Posted by Katie1

Could some one explain to me why I can not find BIRD EGG BEANS in stores...do they call them something else??

I believe that "bird egg beans" are an heirloom type bean originally from either England or Italy.

I'm not sure if they are grown commercially or not...if you can grow your own you might want to check with one of the heirloom seed exchange programs.

[seattlerain]

One of my favorite bean dishes is "Sopa de Frijoles Negros", or Black Bean Soup from Costa Rica.

1 pound black beans
1 tablespoon of cooking oil
1/2 cup of diced onion
2 cloves of garlic (chopped)
1 chopped green or red bell pepper
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup fresh cilantro
salt and pepper

Cover beans with water and soak overnight. Drain and rinse beans and cover with at least 7 cups of water, bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for about 3 hours or until almost soft. Check the water level from time to time and add more boiling water if needed.

When almost soft add 1 tablespoon of oil, ½ cup diced onion, 2 cloves of chopped garlic, 1 chopped red or green bell pepper, ½ cup chopped celery, ½ cup fresh cilantro, season with salt and pepper to taste and cook an additional 1/2 hour.

If desired garnish with fresh lemon juice, Tabasco, sour cream, chives or green onions and serve with flour or corn tortillas.

[bustaduke]

I make red beans and rice just like most people here in New Orleans do but I use hog head cheese for extra seasoning instead of cutup pickle meat.

busta

[Keeper]

I make red beans with ham (ham bone is good too) or polish sausage. I then serve over rice.

I never heard of using hogs head cheese in red beans. Does the gelatin melt?

[nikkzone]

For pinto beans, I like to add some salt pork. It gives good flavor.

[justhere]

Originally Posted by Katie1

Could some one explain to me why I can not find BIRD EGG BEANS in stores...do they call them something else??

Bird egg beans? Ok, are the ones you've seen also called "speckled Borlotti beans" ? Aka these: http://oneblockwest.blogspot.com/2008/07/bird-egg-beans.html AND
http://bp0.blogger.com/_5fYKSwuiiWw/SInvtFUBheI/AAAAAAAAALI/3z0c3oVOnbg/s1600-h/birdeggs.jpg AND
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3140/2935876719_ed1126f4f3.jpg?v=0

They seem to come in different varieties, speckled kidney beans, speckled Borlotti beans, speckled cow bean, purple speckled kidney, etc.

You can buy these at Redflower online for less than 2 bucks/lb. (they are in NJ) they call'em Cranberry (Borlotti) Beans.

[Minathebrat]

Originally Posted by movingtohouston

Going along with the thread in the main forum for stretching your food budget. I am looking for some good recipes for using dried beans. I went a little nutty last food shopping expedition and bought a ton of dried beans, now I don't know what to do with them all. So I am here to ask my food friends for some help.

I tried making my own refried beans last week and they came out just "alright". They seemed dry and lacking in flavor that the ones in the can seem to have.

Also looking for some good soup recipes anything you can come up with. So let's hear it for BEANS!!!!

I'm curious...how did you make your beans? If you explain what you did from package to plate we'll probably be able to fix your dry frijoles refritos problem. Homemade refried beans is a joy not to be passed up! lol