EAT
THIS
HUFFINGTON
06.09.13
HOW TO COOK DRIED BEANS:
1.T
he quick-soak method is your friend. As Adler puts it: “If you
didn’t put two cups of beans in a pot of cold water last night,
get on the bandwagon today by putting them in a pot, covering
them with five inches of water, bringing it to a boil, turning off
the heat, and leaving them sitting in hot water, covered, for an
hour. Then drain them and cover them with new water.” (The
draining is essential, as that water contains all the parts of
beans that make them the musical fruit.)
SHUTTERSTOCK / VINICIUS TUPINAMBA (POT OF BEANS); SHUTTERSTOCK/SERHIY SHULLYE (OLIVE OIL)
TAP HERE
FOR BOOK
trial and error, actually make a
few pots of really excellent dried
beans, 2) the discovery of Rancho
Gordo beans (which cook faster
and taste better than any other
bean I’ve ever tangoed with) and
3) Tamar Adler. More specifically, an excerpt from Tamar Adler’s
An Everlasting Meal, tucked
away inside Best Food Writing
2012, in which she waxes particularly poetic about how nourishing and satisfying a pot of beans
can be.
The biggest lie that every disciple of dried beans has ever
told you is that you have to soak
them overnight. You can soak
them overnight. You should, if
you have the foresight. Let me
confess something to you: I have
never had the foresight to soak
dried beans overnight.
The major argument for using
dried beans rather than canned
is that you get to dictate what
these beans taste like. Canned
beans are great in a pinch, and
2.O
kay, so you’ve covered
your beans in new
water — now what?
This part is a bit like
making stock. Your
beans are going to
taste like whatever
you flavor this next
batch of water with.
There should be a bit
of salt (you can always
adjust later, so use a
light hand), pepper,
any herbs you have on
hand, a chunk of carrot,
celery, fennel, onion, a
Parmesan rind. Most
importantly, as Adler
puts it, there needs to
be an “immoderate,
Tuscan amount of olive
oil,” which I’ve taken
to mean as much as I
think is enough, and
then a bit more.