Simmered appaloosa beans

Snow, it’s now everywhere in Ottawa. It’s beautiful. And it made for a heck of a bike ride last Monday! With the arrival of winter, I am now switching into winter craving mode. I want my meals to warm and rich, enough to fuel me through my long days, and to keep me warm on the cross-country ski trails.

A few weeks ago I did my quarterly Bulk Barn run, to get my granola ingredients. As I was strolling through the isles trying to remember all the things I had once said we needed but had yet to get around to getting, my eyes were caught by a beautiful dried bean I had never seen before, Appaloosa beans. I couldn’t resist, so I bought a few cups and threw them into the pressure when I came home. Later that night, I had ended up making a bean stew inspired by the flavours of beans I’d had in Belize. They are delicious on their own, with nachos, or with rice!

Ingredients: for a meal that serves 6-8

• 2 cups Appaloosa beans, or any other dried bean, cooked in the pressure cooker (or you can skip the cooking and use 4 cups cooked beans)
• 3 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 1/2 tsp chili powder
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 1 large onion, diced
• 2 bay leaves
• 3 cloves garlic, finely minced
• 1 scotch bonnet or other red hot chili pepper (optional, choose one that is within your taste of spice – scotch bonnets are very spicy!)
• 4 cups broth (chicken or veggie), simmering
• 1 lime, juiced
• 1/2 cup chopped cilantro plus more for garnish

Directions:

1.  Cook beans in a pressure cooker for 30 minutes in a 3:1 ratio of salted water:beans
2. In a dutch oven, heat oil over medium heat. In a medium size saucepan, bring broth to a simmer and leave covered.
3. Add ground coriander, chili powder, and nutmeg. When it bubbles (after a few seconds), add the onion and cook for 3-5 minutes, until everything is well sautée’d and the mixture is fragrant
4. Add the garlic, hot pepper and Bay leaves and sauté for another minute
5. Add the beans and stir, coating them in the oil mixture
6. Add the hot broth and bring the whole mixture to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally
7. Uncover, stir, and taste. Remove the hot pepper if it is spicy enough. Add the juice from the lime and the chopped cilantro. Simmer for a further 10-15 minutes uncovered, or more, until desired consistency is achieved
8. Season with salt and pepper, and serve with nachos, rice, or tacos!

Sitelle