You know… I’ve never made beans (from dry beans) the quick way. Slow cooker, yes. Silenus’s baked beans in the oven, yes. But not on the stovetop.
I’ve got about a pound of white beans soaking. I have some bacon in the fridge. I have half an onion, light molasses, dark molasses, brown sugar, and several kinds of mustard, plus mustard powder. I’m thinking I’ll simmer the beans with the bacon and chopped onion, and mix in a bit of brown sugar and molasses and mustard powder.
The acidity of molasses can prevent the beans from ever getting soft. I’d suggest letting the beans cook awhile before you add the molasses, unless you want really firm beans.
I’d put the beans in a clay pot, cover them, and put them in a 200° oven for 12 to 16 hours. You will get much more even heat and richer, more unctuous beans.
Only because I want to see you have the BEST bean experience possible, I have two things to say.
[ol]White beans? Really? Those things are an abomination.
[li]If you really want to make good beans you need to check out The Cornbread Gospels by Crescent Dragonwagon. She has the best recipes for cooking beans ever. [/li][/ol]
Sounds good to me, though I tend towards savory/spicy beans (barracho!) more than sweet/baked beans.
I never soak beans, and have never had problems with them cooking correctly. Even when I put the OMG NEVER PUT THAT IN YOUR BEANS OR THEY’LL NEVER GET SOFT ingredients like salt and molasses.
I’d put garlic in, too. Everything goes better with garlic.
You have never had a French cassoulet, have you? 3 pounds of pork, 3 pounds of duck, a pound of white beans and three days’ preparation to make the most amazing dish in the world. It is my Christmas party tradition for 17 years now. Here is my last-year’s presentation.
I see your Crescent Dragonwagon (a friend of mine!) and raise you Rancho Gordo, Heirloom Bean company (also a friend of mine and he has a cookbook too). Start eating heirloom beans and you wonder why you ever opened a can of beans or bought cheap-ass grocery store beans.
Those grocery store beans were grown, dried and packaged YEARS ago. Astonishing what a bean that is less than six months old tastes like. I personally can recommend the Christmas Lima, the Goodmother Stallard, and the Scarlet Runner bean.
If you don’t mind, please describe your chile verde. I’ve never heard of chile verde with any beans, much less white!
I happen to have a pot of the-closest-I-can-get-to-New-Mexican-Green-Chile on the stove. I can’t get Hatch chiles here and am too cheap to order them through the Interwebs, so I roasted a pile of local chiles and made it with that. So far, it’s pretty tasty. But I’ve never ever seen it with beans in it, nor have I heard of the other kind of chile verde - the tomatillo based one - made with beans.
When the beans, bacon, and onion were done I added (a little too much) brown sugar, a couple of palmfuls of Coleman’s mustard powder, a palmful of salt, a bit of liquid smoke, and maybe a tablespoon of molasses. I let it cook a bit longer, but I had too much liquid. I strained the liquid out.
Not bad. Needs tomato. What didn’t fit into the container went into a bowl. I put some catsup in it. I deem it acceptable.
I make a white chili with large white beans that is killer:
White Chili
2 – 15 ounce cans white northern or cannellini beans
1 tbsp. canola oil
1-1/2 cup white onion (diced)
1 clove garlic (minced)
1 lb. red potatoes (peeled and cubed)
4-1/2 cups chicken stock
1-1/2 cup white wine
1 lb. browned boneless chicken breasts (cubed)
1 tbl ground cumin
1/2 cup milk
4 ounces white cheddar cheese (grated)
2 tsp. (per serving) sour cream 2 tsp. (per serving)
white cheddar cheese (grated) 1 tbsp. (per serving)
fresh cilantro leaves
1 small can diced green chilis
Rinse the beans well with cool water. Place the oil in a large stock pot over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook slowly. Stir frequently and don’t let the onions brown. Add the potatoes, chicken stock, white wine, and water. Cook over medium-low heat, and then let it simmer for 30 minutes until the potatoes are soft. Add the cubed chicken, beans, and cumin. Stir well and cook for five minutes. Add the milk and grated cheese, stir and heat thoroughly. Do not allow the chili to boil. Serve with two teaspoons each of non-fat sour cream, grated reduced-fat white cheddar cheese, and cilantro as garnish.
Add chopped mild green chilis to taste, and add the chopped cilantro to taste at the end.
If you like a thicker soup, make a roux in a small sauce pan out of 2 tbsp. butter (melted) then add 2 tbsp. flour, and cook for 2 minutes to remove the raw flour taste. Stir into the soup to thicken.