I almost hate to bring it up because everyone has such a strong opinion about it but normally I don’t soak. Sometimes I do. I really think the best beans come from very low and slow cooking after a strong 15 minute boil. Soaking can help speed things up and some claim it helps the texture. I’m not sold, but I have no problem with people who insist on soaking, unless they say something like “soak for 24 hours”.
I soaked my Royal Coronas and I’m not sure what the point of sharing this with you is except that it’s just nuts to see how much they swell up! I’ve been doing this for a long time and it’s still amazing. This is a very unusual bean.
I ended up cooking them in a Spanish clay pot with a bay leaf and little salt. I was thinking I’d do something more elaborate with them later but this alone was perfection. No onion, no garlic, no oil. I loved them. So did my guests, who were probably expecting something a little fancier.
Yes! See how pretty they are, all big and shiny! This may be the real reason I soak them, to be greeted with that sight in the morning (I put them to soak at night, before I go to bed).
Ask me again next week and I’ll have a different answer!
The Royal Coronas shine with simple prep but I admit that I cannot imagine eating them without a drizzle of olive oil. My standard way to cook them is with water, salt, olive oil, and a mix of your New Mexico ground chile, ground ancho chile, cumin and oregano.
Nice! Sounds perfect.
I think you have to soak garbanzos, but the 15 minute show ’em whose boss hard boil seems to work fine with most other beans.
I agree, Steve. The simpler the better. I soak Marcella beans 1-2 hrs. only and then cook with water adding only 2 crushed garlic cloves and splash of olive oil. Perfect on toast!