Mmmm, PINTOS!
Wait that's not the pinto I'm talking about!
Here we go!
Oh wait . . . no . . . not that one either!
There they are!
Were you confused?
Just wanted to let you walk in my shoes for a moment!
This is by FAR! My easiest recipe EVER!
I make these everytime I serve Mexican food. My friends say "Oh my! What is in these beans?" Well I've gotta tell you there's almost nothing in these beans! I always try to make too many because they freeze fabulous!
Are you ready for deliciousness?
Can you HANDLE the deliciousness?
Take two pounds of plain dried pinto beans.
Pour them into a collander looking for any weird things. Beans are a "natural agricultural product" you know! Says so right on the package. What they mean is beans grow around DIRT and BUGS and STONES. They highly recommend you examine them carefully. I agree!
I "picked" the beans with my father from the time I was old enough to sit on the counter and look through them! We never found anything in them other than a few genetic abnormalities. Maybe the odd dried kidney bean might get into the great northerns. You know, nothing that'd hurt you! Well as a young woman, off on my own, one day I decided I wasn't going to mess around with this silly bean "picking" business! There were floors to vacuum, shelves to dust, laundry to fold! I had no time for bean picking! As I was carelessly rinsing my beans, I was looking at those floors, shelves, and laundry and thinking of my father.
Had Dad ever told me wrong?
No.
.
I could hear him in my head "Use the FORCE Luke!"
.
Actually it was more like "You'd BETTER pick those beans GIRL!"
.
So rather than vacuum, dust, or fold I spent a minute picking through the beans.
.
Of course, there was a stone that day!
.
My first stone! After 17 years!
.
So, knowing I had saved my little family I happily ignored the vacuum, the dust, and the laundry! It became a pattern for me . . .
BACK TO THE BEANS!
Just a few freaks in the bunch today. I pick them out because it gives me purpose. We all need purpose!
Give them a good washing under some nice cold tap water.
Into a crockpot they go! Crockpots cook beans so gently!
Add 8 cups of water.
Slice up about 4 cloves of peeled garlic! I like to see the little pieces of garlic floating amongst the beans.
You'll need a beautiful, fragrant bay leaf! These ones are wonderfully strong. I used to suck on the bay leaves my father pulled out of his soups and stews. These will zing your tongue if you try to suck on them even after hours in the pot. Can you grow Laurel Bay trees in Missouri? Anyhow, throw the bay leaf in the pot.
Two teaspoons of wonderful oregano goes in too!
Now some of you may be wondering what cuisine I'm making here! Trust me the oregano and bay are beautiful in here. They compliment the beans in wonderful ways. There's quite a bit of oregano used in Mexican cooking. There's is even a different type of oregano called "mexican" oregano. I get the turkish though because it works well in Mexican, Italian, and of course Greek. Can you shout OOMPA? Evidently it HAS to be shouted.
One big old tablespoon of salt is needed too! I started with a tablespoon today and actually ended up using more!
If the thought of that much salt scares you try this experiment. Before you dump the 8 cups of water into the pot, mix in a tablespoon of salt. Taste it. Your beans are never going to be as salty as this liquid is. In fact that salt water has to season the beans too. Now if you like a bunch of "condiments" in your beans then hold back a little. We all have different salt tolerances so go with your gut. Salt is cheap. There's no high blood pressure in my family so I use it liberally! You want to end up with a product as salty as a nice chicken broth would be.
Now put a lid on it. I actually found my pot could tolerate a couple of more cups of water so I added a little more. There is two pounds of beans to hydrate there!
Throw the lid on it and let it cook!
I cooked mine on high and they boiled over. But they were done in under 4 hours! I've quite often started these before bedtime and cooked them on low all night. Do you want beans for breakfast? You could just as easily put them on low and cook them while you were at work. They'd get done.
Oh look at them! Since mine boiled over I had to add a little water back to them. No problemo!
Yes they're done! It's the end of the recipe! I know, I know, you've come to expect at least 10 ingredients and 15 steps from me! You don't even have to stir this stuff!
The beans are super creamy and the skins seem to meld with them. I think it's from cooking them in salted water. It changes them. The broth is herbaceous, garlicky and has a pleasant saltiness to it. It also has body to it. It slides around the tongue a little and feels rich.
How delicious is this stuff? I spilt a little bit on my shirt and the cat came up and sniffed it. Then he licked it. Then he licked it again. Then he started to chew on my shirt! What can I say? He's got gourmet taste!
This starts out as a soup but there's a dozen uses for it. You can put the beans inside tacos or burritos. Put them on nachos. They're a lovely side. You can puree them with the broth and make a nice bean dip. We like them with a little sour cream and fresh cilantro on them! A squeeze of lime would be fine too. I always make a ton and freeze the extras in quart containers. We're ready for taco night anytime!
Pinto soup
2 lbs dried pinto beans, washed and picked
8-10 cups water
2 tsp dried oregano
1 bay leaf
1 Tbsp salt
Dump everything in the crockpot and cook on low for 6-8 hours.
Garnish with any of the following:
cilantro leaves
sour cream
plain yogurt
sliced green onion
shredded cheese
salsa
chopped tomatoes
lime wedges
black olives
hot sauce
sliced jalapeno pickles
tortilla strips
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