I really like beans. But I like them a whole lot less when they have no meat flavoring of any kind.
So any good suggestions for how to really infuse serious flavor into beans without using meat?
Brown sugar and smoke flavoring make fine beans.
Well, I am not into sweet beans, either. But thanks for the suggestion anyway.
There are any number of meatless chili recipes.
Is cheese still on the table? Refried and cheese is a classic combination.
Liquid Smoke. No, it’s not chemical laden frankenfood, it’s honest to gosh real smoke, captured into shelf stable liquid.
Or salt and MSG, depending on how you feel about MSG.
Or tomatoes and green chilis. Chili powder, cumin and oregano optional (the more of these you add, the closer it gets to chili.)
Or lots and lots of garlic, onion, oregano and red pepper flakes.
Or, like the song says, parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme.
Really, beans have very little flavor of their own, and will happily take on the flavor of many things. Think of your favorite non-bean dinners, and try those flavors in your beans.
Oh, and “they” like to tell you that salt and acids like tomatoes should never be added to uncooked beans, because they’ll “never soften”. “They” are wrong. Believe me, I’ve cooked about four gazzillion bean dinners in the last couple of years. They *will *soften, although the skins will remain intact more, so it might take a little bit longer, and if you want oozy mushy beans, then leave the salt and acid out until the beans are done.
Look up red beans and rice.
Maybe…bacon salt?
The stuff about the salt is a load of hogwash, like you say. You’re actually supposed to soak the beans in salted water–makes them creamier.
The part about the tomatoes…I’m not quite sure of. This past weekend, I was over at a friend’s house and we made some Midwestern-style chili with beans. (His recipe–I tend to go for beanless versions myself.) He soaked all his beans overnight, and then we cooked them (with ground beef) in tomato juice, crushed tomatoes, some beer, and broth. After six hours of cooking, the beans were not very much more tender than when they started. I ended up running out, getting canned beans and beef, straining the original chili, and quickly whipping up a new batch to save the chili part of the dinner.
Now, it could have been that they were old beans–I’ve had that happen before where beans will not get any softer no matter how long you cook them, because of their age. He swears these beans were bought fairly recently (within the last six months.) So, is the tomato thing definitely a myth (like the salt) or is there something to it?
Garlic and cilantro. Unless you’re one of those “it tastes like bitter soap to me” people, in which case, sorry.
I make a vegetarian dish out of:
1 16-oz. box of macaroni (whole wheat elbow pasta, usually)
1 can of Goya low sodium black beans
diced garlic to taste (I like a lot)
1 medium onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 small can of corn niblets
1 or 2 diced jalapenos
chopped cilantro, to taste (I like a lot)
salt, black pepper, white pepper, oregano (I like a lot)
A 25 or 26 oz. jar of marinara sauce (no sugar added)
8-10 oz. of extra sharp cheddar cheese (if possible, from 1% or 2% milk)
about 4 oz. of part-skim shredded mozzarella cheese
Boil water to make the pasta, and preheat oven to 400F.
In a french oven, I fry the onions, beans and bell peppers in olive oil, then add the other stuff except the pasta (including the cheese), then add the sauce and simmer for 5 minutes, then add the cooked pasta and stir after the cheese melts in a bit.
Cover with a layer of mozzarella cheese and put in the oven for 10 minutes.
Ta-da. Costs maybe about $20 and feeds 6-8 people, including vegetarians who eat cheese. (Fortunately I know no vegans, at least not on a dinner guest basis.) Use the money saved on a couple of bottles of nice Chianti or Rioja red wine.
The tomato thing is a myth. Again, it will make the skins firmer and less prone to “popping”, just like salt, but the beans will soften eventually.
Made Hoppin’ John on New Year’s (vegan, on request) and the tomatoes were in with the beans from the start (well, after soaking), and they did fine. Made chili last week (although the price the market wanted for Kidney Beans was outrageous, so I made it with Pintos), and it was fine, etc.
They do tend, more than beans alone, to go from “Ohmigod, these are hard as a rock, they’re NEVER going to soften!!!” to “Mmmm…that’s perfect!” very quickly. But yes, I promise, they *will *soften. At least, my experiences with Black Eyed Peas, Pintos and Great Northerns have been such. Can’t recall if I’ve done Kidney Beans from dry with tomato in them.
That’s good to know. I was not very optimistic after six hours of cooking (I’ve never had presoaked beans take anywhere near that long), and some quick internet research led me to push the panic button. I did tell my friend, though, to keep the ground beef and tomatoes and cook in broth after the party, as I thought it was still salvageable. I guess I should ask how it turned out.
Chipotles en adobo, and a ton of onions and garlic.
Yeah, this, or smoked paprika (if you don’t like the heat from the chipotles) is a pretty good lead. Also, any kind of Indian dal preparation should work fine for beans.
Kemp’s black bean template recipe from Epicurious is a staple in our household; we eat it a couple of times a month (and given the quantity of beans it makes, we generally get 3-4 family-size meals from it).
Last night I did a quickie canned-bean dinner:
-Saute an onion in olive oil.
-Add a diced bell pepper (this was something I hadn’t done before).
-Add cumin and/or chile powder to taste, as well as salt.
-Add a couple cloves pressed garlic.
-When it smells good and the veggies are tender, drain a can or two of black beans and add them.
-Heat and serve. Partial mashing is optional.
We use this for burritos and quesadillas. The addition of the green pepper gave it a nice fajita-ish flavor.
I’m kind of the opposite of you: I love beans, and I love meat, but I’m pretty lukewarm on the combination.
Oh! Another good recipe is to drain a can of white beans, add some onions and bell peppers and lots of parsley, and serve it with a lemon-and-oil dressing. Very summery and refreshing.
Behold my recipe for frijoles de olla, which is the result of many, many trials and errors. Personally, I think pinto beans are delicious without a lot of seasonings added.
1 lb pinto beans
1 half of an onion, diced
1 1/2 tablespoons salt
Wash and pick over beans, removing discolored and broken beans. Put in pot, add several inches of water to cover beans. Add diced onion. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and cover. Boil for two hours, occasionally stirring and checking water level. At two hours, or when bean skins having begun to break, add salt and stir. Cook for 30 more minutes, until beans are tender.
Serve with pico de gallo. Or in a quesadilla, a bean and cheese burrito, over nachos, in a taco salad, with cotija and lettuce on a tostada, etc etc.
I love beans and barbecue sauce. I put them on eggs.
Like with most things, the answer is “curry”. This works for all legumes, from beans to peas to lentils to chickpeas. Just lay down a curry base* and add your (pre-boiled or canned) legume. If not already in your base, a can of chopped/pureed tomatoes. And a couple teasoons sugar. Simmer until thickened. Serve with roti.
- this can be anything from “sautee garlic & onions & add curry powder” to something more elaborate
There’s a traditional recipe for white kidney beans which basically consists of the beans, a light tomato sauce, sautéed onion and sautéed green pepper bits (the beans are cooked to just-done separate from the rest, then everything mixed up for a final boil). With some variation on the sauce, it can be applied to pretty much any bean you name.
I made Slow-Baked Beans with Kale a few days ago, and it was excellent. It’s also very versatile - it’s not a curry or Mexican or whatever. Not that those are bad, but sometimes the meal calls for a more traditional flavor profile.
They were also good heated up a few days later for breakfast, with a fried egg. Almost hash-y, which was amazing seeing as they have no meat in them.