Showing posts with label beans. Show all posts
Showing posts with label beans. Show all posts

Monday, January 24, 2011

Heirloom Beans with a Guajillo Chili Sauce

1 lb bag Yellow Indian woman beans or dry bean of your choice.
1 lg Spanish onion.
2 lg tomatoes.
3 cloves garlic.
2 tbs olive oil.
2 tbs Mexican oregano
Chicken stock to cover beans 1 inch over beans. 4- 5 cups.
Salt and pepper.
1/2 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley.
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro.
Soak beans over night rinse and sort.
Roast the unpeeled garlic, onion and tomato in dry skillet on med heat until slightly charred. Turning frequently. Add 1 tbs Mexican oregano and remove from heat. Let cool. Peel garlic and onion. Chop onion, garlic, tomato and pulse in a food processor. This is called a Sofrito. Add 2 tbs olive oil into dutch oven or lg bean pot and heat until glistening. Add mixture from food processor to pan and cook over med heat for 15 to 30 minutes stirring frequently as not to burn. Add beans and chicken stock,1 tbs mexican oregono and bring to boil. Boil for 5 minutes. Reduce heat to low and cook until tender. Add salt and pepper to taste after the beans are cooked. Add chopped herbs to bowls when ready to serving.
For the chili sauce:
6 medium dried Guaillo or Ancho chilies Seeded and stemmed.
2 tbs extra virgin olive oil.
2 tbs cider vinegar.
3/4 tsp oregano.
1 tsp salt.
Toast chilies in a hot dry pan. Remove and cut very small dice. I use scissors. Heat oil in small sauce pan over med heat. Add chilies stir for a moment. Remove from heat. Add vinegar, 3 tbs water, oregano, salt and set aside for 1/2 hour. Serve over beans.

I make a lot of beans. So every year I stock up on my favorite varieties from http://www.ranchogordo.com/ . Such a great company owned by Steve Sando of Napa Valley, California. He markets old fashioned heirloom beans and has really become a cult favorite. He grows and sells the rarer, older, more intensely flavored beans. Grown fresh every season. You have to get your order in because when the beans are gone they are gone until next year. As well as being the supplier to many a famous chef, such as Monsieur Thomas Keller he also supplies Moi. So I guess Thomas and I have something in common!

This recipe is a favorite of mine. I use Rancho Gordo Yellow Indian Woman beans which are an incredibly creamy, dense bean that won't fall apart with long cooking. I use a dry roasting technique that they use in Mexico to create an amazingly deeply flavored sofrito that adds such a remarkably distinct flavor. The Guajillo Chili sauce gives this a delicious and picante flavor that is unmistakable. I served this with dollop of mexican crema and a tablespoon of the chili sauce on top. Perfect with some very cold Mexican beer.

Enjoy!

Monday, January 10, 2011

Beluga French Lentil Salad with Fresh Peas and Radish


Black Beluga Lentil Salad with Fresh Peas and Radish:

1 cup black beluga lentils.
2 cups chicken stock.
1 cup fresh shelled peas slightly blanched in salted water 1-2 mins.
4-6 cherry belle radishes sliced very thin and blanched 1 min.
3 Tbs good finishing olive oil.
1-2 tbs fresh lemon juice.
salt.
freshly cracked black pepper.
serve over baby arugula or watercress.
Sort lentils and rinse well. Add to 2 cups chicken stock. Bring to boil. Turn down to simmer and cook until just tender 20 mins or so. Drain and reserve. Add blanched peas , radishes, olive oil and lemon juice. Stir gently. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve over baby arugula or watercress.

A wonderful lentil salad I made for lunch the other day with some frozen fresh peas I had from earlier in the season and some beautiful Cherry Belle radishes I saw at Whole Foods.
Black Beluga lentils have a mild earthy flavor and hold their shape as well as their texture. Which makes them perfect for salads. I like to cook mine in chicken or vegetable stock which doesn't take away from their original flavor but seems to add a richness to the dish. These lentils glisten when they are cooked which makes them look like beluga caviar, thus the name. I also like to use them on bruschetta because they mimic caviar.

This is such a good example of how you can take something so simple as black lentils and really make them pop with surprise and delight simply by adding some beautiful colors and a simple dressing.
The peppery crunch of the radish and the sweet, barely cooked peas create a wonderful play on color and texture.
I served this over some baby arugula that I couldn't pass up at the market, some sliced toasted garlic baguette and a crisp white wine.

Enjoy!!