Tag Archives: soaking dried beans

Another lamb and garbanzo bean stew

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Yesterday was the day for a trip to the supermarket–as usual dictated not by coupons but by me being low enough on milk that I was not going to be able to make enough caffè latte to get me awake and doing what I needed to do today. As usual, I didn’t go with preconceived notions of what I might bring home to cook.

I got my milk and eggs–just not possible to be out of eggs, but I was–and did my usual troll past the butcher counter. I found a manager’s special that was simply too good to pass up: lamb stew meat at a great price. Since my agenda today was mostly minor chores I thought I’d have time to cook, so I came home with lamb stew meat and actually remembered to soak (in brine) the garbanzo beans last night. You’re probably thinking so what?

Well, it’s fall and that makes me want to cook hearty stuff and lamb stew just seemed to be a really good idea: economical, tasty, some to go in the freezer for quick meals, and some to eat now. Unfortunately, the weather is not really cooperating–my thermometer is showing 82ºF right now–but at least it’s cooler in the evenings now so stew is not completely amiss. Still, so what?  Right?

Well, as I started my morning caffeination by browsing Facebook I was informed that I had memories from two years ago. Now I’m still not convinced the FB really cares about my memories, but the top item on the list was my post about making–yep!–lamb and garbanzo bean stew in the oven. Well, same today: it’s unseasonably warm again, but not too humid, and it’s sunny and breezy today so it’s oven rather than slow-cooker version this time. Since I did forget to soak the Romertopf  ahead of time, I just pulled out the Dutch oven instead.

I did look for recipes last night but didn’t really find anything inspiring, so today’s lamb stew was a “kitchen happening”–let’s just see what turns out. That two-year-ago lamb stew was an oven version of a slow cooker recipe. This year, given the weather I decided that I’d (again) do oven braising. (The slow-cooker version was good, but no way as good as the one done in the oven.)  I haven’t looked back to see what went with that version–all I really remember is that I used canned beans that time.

Oven-braised lamb and garbanzo stew (2016)

Ingredients

(I’m not giving much in the way of measurements here since this was a “kitchen happening”)

  • Lamb stew meat (about 3 pounds with some bones included)
  • Garbanzo beans (brined over-night)
  • Lots of onions (cheated and used frozen chopped ones)
  • Bay leaves–2 large
  • Salt about 1-1/2 teaspoons, give or take–will taste later
  • French thyme (dried)
  • Marjoram (dried)
  • Garlic powder (Oops–not a single head of garlic in the house!)
  • One 14-ounce can of diced tomatoes–drat, out of fire-roasted ones.
  • Smoked Spanish paprika
  • Olive oil as needed for browning lamb

Preparation

  • Brown stew meat (bones included; they will make good stock as the beans and lamb cook ).The bones are big enough to get out easily when the stew is done. Add to Dutch oven.
  • Saute onions until just golden, and add to Dutch oven with meat, beans, and tomatoes
  • Deglaze skillet with water and add to braising pot
  • Add  salt, herbs, and spices.
  • Bring to a simmer on the stove-top
  • Place in a 185ºF oven  and cook until beans and meat are tender–about 3 hours.

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Here I was, again, making this lovely stew in unseasonably warm weather but still cool enough to use the oven rather than the slow-cooker. Cooking my own garbanzo beans was well worth the thought and bit of effort that it took to soak them. Brining them seems to make them cook much more quickly. Leaving the bones in with the meat really gave a lot of lamb flavor–worth the effort of taking them out after the meat was done.

I love this combination of lamb and garbanzo beans–it seems that I’ve used different seasonings almost every time this “happens” in my kitchen, but it’s good every time! No recipe needed just season as you like…a son gôut!

 

Cooking dried beans

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We’re all aware that we should have more whole grains, beans, and legumes in our diet–we’ll talk about grains later, but let’s consider dried beans now.  They taste good, are good for you, and economical.

Beans are a pantry staple for me–both canned and dried.  The canned ones are mostly for “emergency” use.  It’s very easy to cook your own dried beans–especially if you use a slow cooker or put them in a slow over.  Either way, they are on their own without needing attention from you, other than checking them occasionally.

The advantages of cooking your own are multiple: the texture and flavor are likely going to be better than those coming out of a can; you can control seasoning (and the amount of salt), and you have so many more different heirloom beans with different flavors!  Yes, different flavors–not all beans taste alike–and even from the supermarket, you have a lot to from which to choose. If you find that you do like beans, then it’s worth a venture into a gourmet store, or online to find some the wonderful heirlooms that are available.

It does need a bit of planning.  First, you’ll need to sort them to remove any debris like small stones and broken beans–but that’s easily done if you just put the beans on a plate or a rimmed baking sheet.  Since dried beans do need to be rehydrated,  it’s best if you soak your beans overnight.   The quick-soaking methods are not recommended as they can affect the nutrition and the texture of your cooked beans. (Cook’s Illustrated, “Dried Beans 101). Once cooked you can freeze them so that you have a supply of cooked beans on hand when you need them.

Soaking in tap water can toughen them, depending on the mineral content of your tap water.  To avoid this, it’s best to soak them in brine; three (3) tablespoons of salt to each gallon of water will keep the tap water from toughening them, and even displace some of the minerals (calcium and magnesium) that occur naturally in the skins.

You want to cook beans at a gentle simmer so that they don’t break up or split open.  That’s easy with a slow cooker, or in the oven at a very low heat; an advantage of either of these methods is that they don’t require your attention–just a periodic check to see if they are done yet.  It’s an easy thing to do on the weekend when you want to have a lazy day.  In the slow cooker, they can cook while you’re away.

What seasonings you use will depend on what you’re planning to do with these beans.  If I’m cooking a large quantity to freeze some for various uses, I will likely keep the seasonings to a minimum–some onion, bay leaves–to have more flexibility in what I do with them later.   One caution, though:  it seems that most food scientists agree that adding acidic ingredients can keep dried beans from softening during cooking.  So you don’t want to add acidic things (like tomatoes) until the beans are tender.  If you see older recipes that suggest adding baking soda to the cooking water, I would give that a pass as the alkalinity can affect the nutrition.

Occasionally you’ll get a batch of beans that just don’t soften with cooking–that probably means that they are very old, so buy your dried beans where there is a good turnover and don’t let them linger on your pantry shelf for years–go ahead and cook them and freeze them.  I think that you’ll find that if you have them readily available you will use them.

Once you “get into” beans, you’ll find that there are so many wonderful varieties. For an introduction to some of them, take a look at The Cook’s Thesaurus.  Keep in mind that lentils and some “peas” don’t need soaking so may be substituted if you’ve not planned ahead.  Additional nutritional information and survey of some varieties of dried beans can be found at Fruit & Vegetable of the Month (CDC).

My pantry is almost never without canned beans either:  black beans, navy beans, cannellini beans, pinto beans, and garbanzo as the basics, but those are more for when I’ve not planned ahead or for emergency use.  There are huge differences in the taste and, particularly, the texture of canned beans, so you’ll want to explore using different brands for the “emergency” pantry stash. Some store brands (Harris Teeter) are fine for basic uses, but as the texture can vary, you need to buy according to the used–if I’m making a cold bean salad in the summer, I might want Goya, or Progresso instead.

Macaroni & beef with tomatoes

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The sudden arrival of a day that is about 30 degrees cooler that what we’ve been having has sent me scurrying into the kitchen to make a serious, hearty ham and bean soup, maybe some chili, and something quick, warm and cozy for today while the rest of the weekend cooking is in progress.

I love the multiple flavors and textures of a 15-been soup, but one of the frustrations is how differently the various beans cook.  This sent me to Cook’s Illustrated for information on how best to soak my beans.

They recommended a brine for the soak:  3 tablespoons of table salt per gallon per 1 pound of dried beans.  (If you’re using kosher salt see Conversions page for equivalents).  So the beans are soaking!  I’m doing the full pound so that I can stock the freezer with bean soup for the winter since it’s a favorite meal.

Since I did not plan ahead I have wait for the beans to soak, I’ll have to cook something else for today’s cool weather food– mac ‘n’ beef sounds like good cool weather food.

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I found a recipe that looked easy and quick in Cook’s Country–a skillet version.  Only drawback was that I needed to be out running errands and wanted food when I got back.  Since I’d discovered that I can make a decent macaroni and cheese in my rice cooker, I decided to try making it in that.  The other thing I like with my macaroni and beef is chunks of tomatoes, not just some tomato sauce so I did a little modification of the recipe, and enjoyed my comfort food on a chilly day.

Ingredients

  • 10 ounces of elbow macaroni (or any small tubular pasta)
  • 3/4 pound of lean ground beef
  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 1 14.5-ounce can of diced fire-roasted tomatoes, drained reserving liquid
  • 1 10-ounce can of diced tomatoes and green chilies, drained reserving liquid
  • 1 tablespoon of olive oil
  • 6 medium cloves of garlic, put through press
  • 1 teaspoon of dried oregano
  • 1 teaspoon of Hungarian half-sweet paprika or smoked Spanish paprika
  • salt and pepper to taste
  •  2-1/2 cups of liquid (juice of tomatoes brought up to this volume with water)

Assembly

  • Cook onion in the olive oil until just starting to brown in a skillet on the stove-top.
  • Add ground beef and break up, and brown.
  • Add garlic, paprika and oregano, and continue to cook until fragrant.
  • Transfer to bowl of rice cooker and add drained tomatoes and the liquid.
  • Add macaroni and mix well.
  • Set on the rice cooking cycle; it switches to warm/hold when done.
I got back from running errands and there was my mac ‘n’ beef ready to eat.  I have several more servings…a couple are destined to go into the freezer for future use.   Some will get reheated in the oven in the next few days (topped with some cheddar cheese and put under the broiler until it’s nice and brown).

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I don’t have a lot of specialty appliances in my kitchen, but one that has earned a permanent spot on my counter is my Krups rice cooker which also functions as a steamer and a slow cooker–and you can steam and cook rice at the same time.  You can also use it to cook pasta.

One of the things I discovered in the recipe book that came with it was a recipe for macaroni and cheese cooked using the rice cooking mode.  I was pleased with the results with a bit of modification in the ingredients.  The pasta does not overcook–just like rice does not overcook so I was inspired to try the macaroni and beef in it and it  worked well.