Black Beans 101

Black beans are not widely used or available in Australia, which is sad, because they are so delicious not to mention super healthy. Lucky for me the Kakulas Brothers in Northbridge, Perth have bulk bins of almost everything you could desire, including dried black beans.

I attempted cooking black beans once before with poor results because I boiled them and discarded the cooking water - amateurs mistake. They require more time and effort than other dried beans, but after discovering the absolute brilliance that is Martha Rose Shulman and her guide to Black Beans as part of her awesome recipe series with the NY times called Recipes for Health, I think my cooking abilities are about to take a leap forward.

 

On her website she says, "I draw my inspiration from Mediterranean and Mexican cuisines, inherently healthy cuisines with big flavors, whose recipes can be easily adapted, if they need to be, to lower-fat versions without compromising flavor"... I want to meet this woman!

 

This recipe is pretty much Martha Rose Shulman's to the letter, it takes a good 2-3 hours and completely worth the time and effort. 

I am tired of the excessive foodie language used today in Australia. Comments like "I love how the saltiness of the fish sauce is balanced by the sweetness of the palm sugar", or "I love the way the lemon zest brings out the flavour of the beans" are so over used and drive me bananas. For this reason I avoid being too verbose when describing food.

But for this recipe I can't help it. The rich earthiness of these black beans has to be tried to be believed, it is deeply satisfying.There I said it..

When you have time, give this recipe a go, you won't regret it!

 

2 cups dried black beans, washed and picked over for stones

1 tablespoon canola oil

2 medium onions diced

6 large garlic cloves roughly chopped

1/4 cup chopped coriander

Salt to taste 

Soak the beans in about 2 litres of the water for at least six hours. If they will be soaking for a long time in warm weather, put them in the refrigerator.

 

Heat the oil over medium heat in a large, heavy soup pot or Dutch oven, and add the onion. Cook, stirring, until it begins to soften, about three minutes.

 

Add the garlic. Cook, stirring, until fragrant, about one minute.

 

Add the beans and soaking water. The beans should be covered by at least an inch of water. Add more as necessary and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, and skim off any foam that rises.

Once it comes to a boil, this is when I put mine in the oven at about 170 degrees for an hour, alternatively simmer on a low heat for an hour.

Add salt and fresh coriander and simmer for another hour.

 

The beans will become soft and the broth thick and fragrant. Taste for salt.

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Let sit overnight in the refrigerator for the best flavor.

 

 

I ate mine with brown rice, coriander, spring onion, lettuce, jalapenos, fresh chilli, black olives and a couple of corn chips. Some sour cream or natural yogurt would have been good, but it wasn't missed.