Basic Basque Beans

Submitted by vfowler28

"This recipe comes out of one my Basque cook books called The Basque Table, great book. I have cooked these beans for very large dinners (up to 70 people) always a winner. I have made a few changes. If you are preparing beans as a side dish, soup bones or morrow bones will suffice for flavor, I use ham hocks if I have them if not soup bones will work. But for a main course, you may want to add meat to the pot. Bacon or chorizo or even hamburger will work. If using hamburger, sauté first. *Research in recent years by the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture shows that a simple procedure in preparation will eliminate 80% of the gas caused in eating beans. Complex sugars are that element and can be dissolved out in the soaking water by following this method. 1. Add the washed beans to a large pot with at least 3 times as much boiling water. 2. Boil 2 minutes without a lid 3. Remove from fire, cover and let stand 1 hour. 4. Discard water and add fresh cold water to cook."

 

• Ready In: 2hrs
• Ingredients: 9
• Serves: 6

ingredients

• 2 cups dried beans
• 2 large onions, chopped
• 5 large garlic cloves
• 1 stalk celery, chopped
• 1 carrot, chopped
• 2 sprigs parsley
• 1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
• salt & pepper
• cayenne pepper

directions

1. Wash and pick over beans to discard any stone or other debris. After preliminary preparation, add fresh cold water (hot water toughens them) to about 2 inches above beans.
2. Add soup bones or ham hocks. Bring to a boil and skim off the foam that forms. After beans have simmered covered for about 45 minutes, and are beginning to soften, add the rest of the ingredients. (If onion or salt is added in the beginning, the beans may toughen).
3. Continue cooking for about 45 minutes, or until beans are very tender. Adjust seasoning to taste.

Reviews

[Cheri B]

If I could give a 10 I WOULD ! We started eating these beans before I got the tomato sauce in. This method of making beans less gassy really-really worked! Now I can make beans any day of the week just not weekends ! The beans sat for more than an hour on step #3.(beer 30 is break time). Made for PAC Spring 2008