Dried black beans (Recipe: moros y cristianos)
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That's an interesting recipe you've shared Lydia!
The most common way we use black beans here is to add them in tofu or meat dishes!
Yours sounds yummmm!
Black beans are ubiquitous in our house. We once asked a friend in the food supply business where to get really good ones in bulk and he showed up with a 25 pound bag as a gift. It took us surprisingly little time to go through the 25 lbs.Yesterday at a local eatery - Nick's on Broadway - I had a simple breakfast Huevos preparation that I loved: a pan toasted whole wheat tortilla spread with black beans spiced up with onion, garlic, cumin and a little tomato (I'm guessing here), topped with an open 6-inch egg omelet and sides of fresh salsa and chipotle-laced sour cream. Yummmmeeee
I love these beans and I love the photo above!
Paz
You just reminded me that I have a festival to find in French Basque country this fall - epazote reminded me but it's about peppers, if I remember correctly....help me out here...
Great looking beans!
I remember similar decortating efforts!
And I really must stop and proof read... sigh....
everyone needs some good ol' beans & rice everyone once in a while
Valentina, I don't think I've had black beans and tofu, but I can imagine how good that would be!
Mary, breakfast at Nick's is always a treat. The huevos sound truly spectacular -- what a way to start the day!
Paz, thanks. I love black beans, too.
Katie, piment d'Espelette is what you're thinking of...I think. Please let me know if you go to the festival.
Connie, you betcha.
Black beans are the best! I could probably eat them seven days a week. The combination of the tart lime juice with the earthy flavor of the beans sounds very appealing!
Oh Lydia, a few of your phrases made me laugh like "though they taste more like mushrooms than turtles" and "often their unhappiness will cause them to float on the surface". LOL! Thanks for all the info. about these beans. Due to my lack pf patience when it comes to beans, I usually use canned beans, unless I am making a soup. But like you said, they are not necessarily interchangeable.
Black beans would probably be one of my top pantry staples!
I can imagine how beautiful all of those lovely glass jars looked in your kitchen!
I'll be canned ones for me. Back in hometown, we usually use green beans and red beans for making desserts.
TW, the lime is a nice touch. Very Cuban.
Nora, thanks! Sometimes I giggle when I write, too.
Kristen, I think at one point I must have had at least 25 jars filled with beans and other goodies. And though I no longer have those particular jars, I still tend to "decant" things into glass jars, so I can see what I've got on hand in the pantry.
Tigerfish, I've had some of those red bean desserts -- there's one called ABC, I think, that we had in Malaysia -- or maybe it's called ais kacang -- or maybe those are the same thing, I can't quite remember.
I adore black beans. And I am going to talk to my husband to see if there is anyway he would allow me to have boyfriend on the side with a jar company. I might have to liquor up my husband first:-)
The most important ingredient in feijoada, Lydia! :)
Can't decide which I like better, black beans or chick peas. It's apples and oranges, isn't it? Too bad I only use canned. I love the homey look the jars give a kitchen.
Maryam, welcome to The Perfect Pantry. I wouldn't have wanted to share my friend Joyce's boyfriend (not my type), but I did like the perks!
Patricia, some day I will have to try making feijoada.
Susan, I'm completely in the black bean camp. Do try cooking beans from scratch some day; you'll be amazed at the difference in texture.
hi lydia,
thanks for stopping by my blog earlier.
I have just been reading about black beans, wow, I didn't know any of that stuff, next time I make a soup, I am gonna put some in. I am really into healthy low gi foods. thanks for the tips
linda pp pantry
I know what you mean about the difference between canned and dried beans. Strangely, I have never found dried flageolets to be superior to canned, which is a bit funny because I do look down on cans a bit, but there you go.
Linda, beans are so good for you, and delicious. I hope you'll try them!
Neil, what I like about dried beans is that you can control the texture; with canned, you get what you get, and you try not to let them get too mushy. Dried beans do need a lot of flavoring when you cook them.
I can thoroughly indentify with filling jars. Years ago, in Madison, Wis., whenever friends left town, they would give me their nonperishables! Inevitably, the gift included those flap-top glass jars with stoppers. I filled them with lentils in three colors, black beans and pasta. They looked lovely in my cupboard. I still have most of them.
Black beans remain a favorite.
I like your picture - the black beans look like coffee beans when they're placed in a mug! It sounds like those jars were not only useful, but fun! Thanks for the tips on dried versus canned black beans.
Mimi, I had tons of those flip-top glass jars, too (still do....). There is something so satisfying about surveying the pantry and seeing all the jars filled with beans and pasta. Maybe it's just the knowledge that with such a bountiful and beautiful pantry, we will never be hungry.
Hillary, thanks. When I make black bean soup and serve it in those cups, it really does look like coffee -- very strong coffee!
Black beans seem really special to me here, and I like their subtle and comforting flavour. Mmm :)
Kelly-Jane, one of my favorite meals in a local Peruvian-Brazilian restaurant is a big plate of black beans and rice, with a dollop of fresh salsa on top. The beans are made like this recipe, with no meat or bones, and they are light and delicious from their own goodness.
This post caught my eye because I have a bag of black beans in my pantry. I did not know that they can go stale - that is a good thing to know!! What an informative post!