Category: In the kitchen

We Get Letters: Can You Oversoak Your Beans?

In our last Rancho Gordo newsletter, I made this comment:

I was looking through our customer reviews on ranchogordo.com and in general, the feedback is the kind of thing most companies dream of. We have about 95% five-star reviews and the occasional clunker. Most of the bad reviews state something like this: “I’ve been cooking the beans in a bean pot for six to eight hours now and they still aren’t soft. They were soaked for twelve hours and have been simmering in a ceramic bean pot all afternoon and evening.” Or “I soaked them at least 24 hours and used them in my recipe and no matter how long I cooked them they were still crunchy.”

What do they have in common? Excessive soaking.

As I’ve said many times before, most of us here don’t soak our beans. We know how fresh they are and it’s easier to just cook them. Sometimes I’ll get up early on a Sunday morning and soak the beans for cooking later in the day but I really think between four and six hours is more than enough. It’s not science, but a suspicion I have is that the beans are starting to sprout. 
I’m not anti-soaking but I do think you can over-soak the beans. 

I was naive to think there wouldn’t be a response! I’ve decided to post some  for you here. So many great responses and so many great customers. I’m a happy fellow.

I should add, I don’t have any problem with our beans not softening. And judging by our customer service inquiries, neither do the vast majority of you. We have all kinds of problems, but this just normally doesn’t come up as one of them. But when it does, it seems to be accompanied by an extremely long soak.

Steve,
As a geologist, I thought I would add to your over-soaking comment. Many water systems have natural salts that may also harden prevent the beans not cooking . Everyone knows only salt the at the end of cooking.
I never had success cooking beans until I discovered Rancho Gorda beans and your website.
Thank you for the great products, cooking methods and fab recipes.
All my best,
MC

Hi Steve,
That’s an interesting take on soaking. I just drop the dry beans into boiling water, let them boil for 1 measured minute and then let them soak for an hour. They come out perfectly so long as I use the beans of the year.
I just finished harvesting my crop of Marcella’s and Tigereyes and am in process of harvesting white runners. I doubt that I will plant the last next year. The vines take over the world! This spring I harvested a small crop of red lentils and am waiting for cooler weather to cook up a mess of red lentil/Italian sausage potage.
I tried some nuñas popped in the microwave and was less than impressed. I’ll try them in a skillet next time but this variety doesn’t look like a repeater to me. Maybe some garbanzos will be worth a try next spring.
Growing and eating beans is immensely satisfying!
Walter

As I always say, if you have a system that works for you, keep on it. 
re the Nuñas, I like the idea of them popping but after years of drying them to try and get them to pop, it’s seemed less than a thrill. 

I find that if you add salt or tomatoes before the beans are soft, they will never get soft. Many recipes include salt or tomatoes too early.
I love your beans!!!
JoAnn

Steve, I’m wondering if your customers who are commenting on cooking issues are adding salt too early to the cooking water. I believe (from experience)that has an effect on cooking time. Love, love your beans! I’m grateful to my friend who introduced me to your products. Thank you, thank you. Elita

Hi Steve,
I’m just wondering about your thoughts on the recommendation by Americas Test Kitchen on “brining” beans during the soaking period. Like you, I typically only soak for 3-4 hours before cooking but have found that 3-4 tbs of salt in the soaking water helps. You do have to rinse this off and cook in unsalted water after that and only adjust seasoning at the end. They (ATK) claim that brining causes some change to the skin structure which keeps it intact but not hard. Just wondering in RG has ever tried or heard of this?
Craig

We talk about this a lot because people bring it up. It’s hard to bother when our beans seem always to come out. Julia has promised to try this over the holiday weekend. 

Steve: another culprit is salt. I used to salt my beans as soon as I added the water and other ingredients, but sometimes they never softened, no matter how long I cooked them. After doing a little research, I found a Diana Kennedy recipe that says to NEVER salt beans until near the end of the cook time. Now I never salt until the end, and they come out perfect every time! Salud, James

I tend to salt at the point when the beans aren’t quite done but it’s clear that there’s no turning back. The pot starts to smell like beans. If you wait too long, you’ll have salty broth and bland beans. It’s a balancing act. 

Hi Steve,
So are you saying that over soaking causes “hard” beans??
Best,
Roger

Yes. It can happen! 

Steve –
I agree! Rancho Gordo beans are so fresh they hardly require any soaking. I never have to soak the Midnight Black Beans – they are my all time favorite!
Will you ever have the Florida Runner Beans again? Or something similar?
Best –
Diane

Hi Steve! Hope you are well! On soaking beans, I will say that those who live in places where the water is hard as a rock, do need to add a teaspoon of baking soda to the quick pre soak, to soften the cooking water and then drain. Others may not know to leave the salt out till they are cooked soft, as salt pulls water out of foods. The lovely Corona is just a big bean and needs more cooking, it’s all relative Steve. 🙂 Hope this helps! Munson

Hello there!
Regarding soaking beans: I’ve been experimenting a little with my new toy…a Fissler stove top pressure cooker. I have been doing a quick soak first. I pour boiling water from the kettle on my beans and soak for about an hour, then pressure cook them for about 20 minutes. I probably don’t need to do the presoak. I never have when I’ve cooked my beans the normal way. But I like the way the beans are coming out. Just thought I’d share. 
Best wishes, Cheri

Loved the New Yorker article. Really enjoying your beans. A quick question hopefully.
I soaked a pound of Scarlett runners (will do less soaking next time, I hear you on they’re so fresh don’t necessarily need it). I drained early the next morning and put in a container and promptly forgot about them. They’re about ten days old now. They look fine, smell fine, haven’t sprouted, aren’t soft or mushy, etc. Do you think they’re okay to cook still?

Another question as I’m writing this: can I freeze simply cooked beans (I’m thinking I do a basic cook, split in half, freeze one, cook the other and the next week or month, unfreeze and make a completely differ t recipe).

Thanks in advance for anything you might offer. Hope all is well there for you and yours!
Amy

I would pass but only based on instinct, not science. 
Freezing is easy and those that do it recommend freezing with plenty of bean broth. 

Interesting article on bean soaking…we are above 5000′ and use a pressure cooker…never had problems with soaking overnight…no consistent issue except maybe for some beans in the batch. just our two cents worth for what that is worth anymore 🙂
great beans and newsletter…
best, Will

Ah ha! So one CAN oversoak beans! What a help, that is. I’m sure I’ve sent some into sprout mode plenty of times.
Recently, I took a class at Sur la Table. We used an Insta-Pot to cook unsoaked beans and they were fantastic…in half an hour or less.
Erin

If you soak beans (at least garbanzos) long, they start to ferment. Bubbles give it away. Jacques Pepin says that makes them unhealthful, but I can’t imagine that being true. Fermenting generally makes things more digestible by breaking down long sugar molecules. I wonder if that could affect cooking, however. I believe I have run into the phenomenon you mention after soaking them a long time (generally due to unplanned delays in cooling) up to a few days 
Best, Paul 
ps – In your searches, please look for small garbanzos. I got some from Arrowhead (sorry) but most are much bigger. The little ones are more like those I’ve had in Italy.

I just read your latest newsletter and I wanted to say something about oversoaking beans. I’m with you — my (starting to become extensive for a home cook) experience shows that yes, you can oversoak beans. Basically, I think that once the soaking water starts to froth on the top they’ve been soaked too long and are starting to ferment (or maybe sprout, as you suggest). 12 hours is too long! Overnight is too long! 24 hours is way too long. 3-6 hours is fine, and not soaking at all is also fine but does take a little longer. Maybe an hour or two. So I’m not sure if you’re really saving much time by pre-soaking anyway. 

The only Rancho Gordo beans I’ve found tricky in regards to cooking time are the teparies. They are really unpredictable. But delicious enough that I don’t care 🙂

Thanks for all your work,
Lori

Too Much Corn? Leftover Beans? Soup Is On the Way

Between the farmers markets, my own vegetable garden, and sloppy refrigerator housekeeping, I often end up with too many vegetables. This week it was too much corn. The result was a soup with pancetta, Rancho Gordo Cassoulet beans, and corn right off the cob.

We tried this with the addition of a poached egg and the combination of egg and corn is almost cloyingly sweet. It was OK but we all agreed it was better as it is. If you prefer creamier soups, you can obviously blend this with an immersion blender but personally, I love all the texture.

I’ve made this with all bean broth and it was too “beany” if that makes sense. The pancetta and aromatics make such a delicious base that you don’t need much else as long as the corn is fresh and the beans are good.

I reheated some leftover and add a touch of heavy cream. It was incredible but a very different soup. If you’re having a rough day, add the cream. Otherwise, enjoy the glory of summer corn without it.

Recipe: Pancetta, Corn and Bean Soup

4 ears of corn, kernels removed 
3 ounces pancetta, cubed
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cups cooked Rancho Gordo Cassoulet beans
3 cloves garlic, minced
½ yellow onion, chopped fine
1 tablespoon Rancho Gordo Oregano Indio
2 cups water (or half water and half bean broth)
salt, pepper to taste
optional: 2-3 tablespoons heavy cream

In a soup pot, saute the pancetta cubes over medium-low heat until tender and chewy, about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent them from burning.

Add the garlic and onions and saute until soft, about five minutes. Add the corn, beans, and water, stirring to mix all of the ingredients. Continue cooking for about 20 minutes over medium heat, stirring occasionally.

Right before serving, you can add some heavy cream if you like. Allow the soup to cook another 2 or 3 minutes to reheat if necessary.

Dinner Party: Fish Tamales in Soup with Garbanzos and Zucchini

I keep experimenting with this concept and it keeps getting better.

It started by my seeing a clay pot of these fish tamales in both in Morelia, Mexico. I’ve attempted to recreate it before. Every time it improves.

You start with a broth. This was half bean broth and and half water. The zucchini were sliced very thin and added with onion, parsley and celery. This continues to cook until you have an acceptable broth.

Soaked corn husks for tamales were soaked in warm water for a couple of hours to make them pliable. In each package I added an hoja santa leaf, two pieces of cod, morel mushrooms, zucchini slices and a mix of thinly sliced onion and jalapeño that had been marinating in olive oil. This was tied up with string to make a little package.

This is what I had on hand and sounded good. I would encourage you to do the same. Got shrimp? Use it! Some other vegetable? Just slice it thin enough to cook in the relatively short time you have before the fish overcooks.

They cooked in the broth for about 20 minutes.

While the fish gently poached, I fried up some padron peppers in duck fat. Oink. I mean, quack.

This salad of cucumber, yogurt, lemon, garlic and mint continues to be a summer favorite but my fickle family is getting tired of it. During these hot summer nights, I think it’s the best salad ever.

I cooked the fish in a red clay cazuela from San Marcos Tlapatzola in Oaxaca. It’s become a dedicated tamal de pescado pot.

Inspired by a traditional barbacoa in Hidalgo, I decided to add garbanzos to the bottom of every soup bowl and ladle the hot cooking broth over them as a soup course.

If all goes as planned, the tamales flavor the broth. Even the corn husk adds a little something.
I was confused what to call these. Tamales doesn’t seem a hundred percent right since there was no masa but my very clever friend Sharon Peters responded to my query if they can be called tamales:

Yes, they can, Steve. In Central and Eastern Mexico, it is not at all uncommon to encounter a tamal de X (pescado, hongos, etc.) that has been either cooked on the comal or poached in a shallow liquid. Most commonly found wrapped in hojas de maiz, but sometimes in hojas de plátano (which are especially aromatic). I had no idea that such tamales existed until I ran across them in a couple of (very) rural markets and at a puesto in the plaza in Tlaxcala. Guadalupe Pérez San Vicente, in her Repertorio de tamales (Cocina Indigena y Popular #15) states that her research led her to the conclusion that the term “tamalli” referred to something that had been “envuelto cuidadoso” – or, carefully wrapped. True, by far the most common in Mexico, and certainly in the US, are the tamales that are steamed in a vaporera.

Finally the warm fish packages are passed around and it’s a pretty nice moment. Everything is cooked to perfection and two seems about the right number per serving. There were no leftovers, not even of the soup.

Cassoulet Bean Soup with Guanciale and Capers

This was a winner. I only took notes so I don’t have a proper recipe for you but I bet you can manage and maybe even make this better.

Leftover cassoulet beans are terrific for soups. Many like to puree them and have a silky texture but I generally prefer a more rustic soup.

I think I was the last person on earth to discover salt-packed capers. They are delicious and only a slight bother. You can rinse and soak a batch of them, then squeeze any liquid out and rest them in some good olive oil. They’re a perfect ingredient.

My notes say:

11⁄2 cups cooked Rancho Gordo Cassoulet (Tarbais) beans
1 oz guanciale
2 spoons of capers in oil
1 spoonful olive oil
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 cup bean broth
1 cup water
4 poached eggs
Parsley for garnish

I’d render the guanciale in the olive oil until cooked, then add the capers and garlic. Once the garlic is cooked, add the liquids and cook for a bit to make the base for a soup. Then add the beans and right before serving, the eggs.

You can make the eggs well ahead. Just undercook them a smoodge and pour the hot bean soup over them.

Edited to add: I made this again because I had all the ingredients on hand but this time I took a big rosemary sprig and I added it after the guanciale was cooked and removed it right before serving. It worked well!

Smoked Tomatoes With a Great New Toy

You know I love a new toy. I’ve written about clay donabe pieces from Toiro before and I’m strictly a tourist. The pots are an investment but for someone like me who still is haunted by the Napa fires last year, grilling and barbecuing is just not an option.

The Ibushi Gin stovetop smoker is perfect. It’s very easy to use and I am looking at every ingredient in my kitchen as a potential experiment. This last weekend I used crap Roma tomatoes from the grocery store. I salted them and added some of our Oregano Indio.

I would guess than most people who use these want a complete meal out of them but I think they’re worth it for creating ingredients that you can use throughout the week. The smoked tomatoes were ridiculously good and the skins really just slipped off. I used the tomatoes with some leftover hominy and pork and it was a great dish, thanks in large part to the tomatoes.

The pot comes with cherry wood chips. I am looking at containers of pecan, hickory and oak. I’m all in and will report back with more.

If you want to dig deeper, and you should, be sure and check out the book Donabe. It’s a whole new reason to be an obsessive.

Disclaimer: I have no relationship with the Toiro people beyond being a fanboy. I hope to meet them and thank them one day soon! 

Recipe: Carrot and Mayocoba Soup

As always, some of the best dishes come from trying to use up leftovers. I’ve been on a carrot kick. I like them. I want to love them, but they tend to go bad before I can finish them. I was determined not to let that happen this time!

Carrot and Mayocoba Soup

¼ pound pancetta, cubed
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus about a spoonful to garnish
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
1 sprig fresh thyme (or 1 teaspoon dried thyme)
2 bunches of carrots (approx 1.5 to 2 pounds), peeled and chopped
3 cups chicken or vegetable stock
2 cups cooked Rancho Gordo Mayocoba beans (plus 1 cup of bean broth)
Salt and pepper to taste
Chopped fresh parsley

Serves 2 to 4

In a large pot, cook the pancetta in 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat until cooked through and chewy, about 7 to 10 minutes. Keep stirring so that the pieces don’t burn. Add the onion, garlic, thyme and carrots and cook until soft, about 5 minutes.
Add the chicken stock, taking care to scrape any caramelized bits off the bottom of the pot, and stir to incorporate them into the liquid. Continue cooking for 10 minutes. Add the beans and the broth to the carrot mixture. Stir well and then puree them with an immersion blender or in batches in a blender, taking care not to overfill the blender jar with hot liquid. You can also puree without the beans and add them later if you want more texture to your soup.
Cook the blended soup for another 10 minutes over medium-low heat. Check for seasoning, noting that the pancetta can be salty and possibly your cooked beans as well.
Serve sprinkled with chopped parsley and drizzled with extra-virgin olive oil.

This recipe orginally appeared in the Rancho Gordo Newsletter on June 14, 2018
You can sign up for our twice-monthly email newsletter here. 

 

Summer Has Arrived: Arugula, Fennel, Chickpea and Shrimp Salad

I spent a good portion of my youth vacationing in Liguria. I was lucky enough to have a friend’s Italian mother to indulge me with my fascination for all things Italian and of course, I was a wee bit obsessive, much to her amusement. We ate really well.

I don’t remember this salad but it easily might have been served along with her other magic dishes.

After seeing a video of Asian shrimp being injected with some gross substance so that they’ll weigh more, I’ve turned to wild caught shrimp, both fresh and frozen. Happily, they’re more readily available and they taste much better.

If you wanted to drop the shrimp, this is still a great salad combination, inspired by a recipe from Laura Giannatempo’s A Ligurian Kitchen: Recipes and tales from the Italian Riviera. The original recipe has you grilling shrimp and indeed you should, if that’s handy. I gently pan sauteed shrimp in tons of garlic with olive oil and added them to the salad. If there were a grill going, I would have used that.

I will confess that the idea of fennel never appeals to me but the reality of it is almost always great. Trader Joe’s often has it in the vegetable section for a very reasonable price. I find thinly slicing it with my mandolin makes it perfect and mellow. Big hunks of raw fennel are weird. You can cut the onions with the mandolin as well, as long as you have it out.

Arugula, Fennel, Chickpea and Shrimp Salad

For the salad
1 small fennel bulb
4 cups baby arugula (rocket), washed and dried
1 orange, peeled and cut into segments
1/2 small red onion,
1 cup cooked Rancho Gordo Garbanzo beans
salt and pepper to taste
1 pound of shrimp, cooked as you like

For the dressing
1 teaspoon honey
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon orange juice
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

It’s Time for the Great Summer Salads

This one:
Cooked cactus paddles (nopales)
radishes
corn off the cob
Yellow Indian Woman beans
oven roasted tomatoes
Rancho Gordo wild rice
Banana vinegar
extra virgin olive oil
thyme

The best tomatoes are “in season” but if you’re in a bind, take romas and cut them in half. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle sea salt and fresh thyme over them and slowly cook them in a low oven, about 275F for an hour or two.

Need some help with the nopales after foraging?

One Pot – Three Meals with San Franciscano Beans

We get letters! I’ve been meaning to share this one for awhile. One pot of beans means many meals. Make your beans on Sunday and eat well throughout the week. It’s very simple recipe.

Hi Steve,

I always find your newsletters to be inspiring! The one pot = 3 meals
concept is my idea of meal planning! My husband and I own a cattle
ranch in a remote area of Oregon and trips to town, especially during
the winter months, can be weeks apart. In the summer we operate a
small, destination resort on our ranch, but during the winter it is just
the two of us out here in the middle of nowhere. We enjoy good food and
a welcome break from our three-meals-a-day routine is a creative use
of leftovers. Currently we are working through a pot of Charro Beans
(your recipe) made with San Franciscano beans. First we served them
ladled over a ground meat patty and garnished with cheese and red onion
(like a chili size). Tonight I’ll make cornmeal hoe cakes and pile the
beans over the top, topped with cheese, scallions, sliced avocado and
sour cream. Tomorrow, any leftover beans will probably accompany a
salad and bread for a light dinner.

Keep coming up with those great ideas! Happy New Year to you too!

Karen Simmons
Aspen Ridge Resort
www.aspenrr.com

If you wanted to follow Karen’s lead but didn’t have San Franciscanos on hand, you might easily substitute Rio Zape beans.

My Favorite Green Just Might Be Dandelions (Especially With Beans)

There’s not much original about loving beans and greens. They’re a natural combination. The greens are fresh and healthy, and if I have my way, a little bitter. They are offset by the creamy, indulgent beans.

My grocery store carries them in their organic section. I hope yours does, too. You can always ask the produce manager to bring them in if they don’t already. I don’t tend to see them at the farmers markets. They are considered a weed.

I normally just saute a little onion and garlic in olive oil to start but I had a fennel bulb heading south so I added it as well. It took almost 20 minutes on a medium low heat but it was worth it as the fennel caramelizes beautifully and this adds a lot to the dish. I’m not so keen on a strong anise flavor but it’s mellowed to the point of being groovy when you cook it this way.

Once you’ve rinsed the dandelions, chop them and let any water you used rinsing them cling to the leaves. It makes part of the sauce later.

Add the chopped dandelions to the onion mix and try and coat each piece with the hot vegetables. It will seem like too much but within a few minutes, it cooks way down. Stir occasionally.

In about ten minutes, the mixture is ready. It’s great as it is, over rice, stuffed into a pita or best of all, tossed gently with warm beans.

Everything was fine but why not make it finer? I added some toasted black walnuts. Ding Dang! That’s the ticket. I tried it again with just a few drops of lemon juice but it wasn’t necessary.

I could eat this every day and be a happy fellow.