Simple Black Beans

This recipe was published in the October 2007 issue of Cuisine at Home. I found a bag of black beans in the pantry and thought this sounded like a wonderful alternative to canned black beans. This recipe can be prepared, frozen in 1 cup size packages and then defrosted and used whenever a recipe calls for canned black beans. These are far superiour in texture and flavor to canned beans.

• Ready In: 1 hr 10 mins
• Yields: 6 cups

Ingredients

• 1  medium onion, chopped
• 3  garlic cloves, finely minced
• 1  tablespoon olive oil
• 5  sprigs fresh thyme or 1⁄2-3⁄4 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1  lb dried black beans, picked through, rinsed, soaked overnight and drained
• 2  bay leaves
•  salt and pepper

Directions

1. In a large pot, saute onion in oil over medium-high heat until the onion is soft, about 5 minutes.
2. Add the garlic and thyme; cook until fragrant, 1 minute.
3. Add the drained beans, bay leaves and enough water to cover beans; bring to a boil over high heat, reduce temperature to simmer, cover and cook for 40 to 50 minutes or until beans are tender but not mushy.
4. Check often and add from 1 to 2 cups additional water if beans start to cook dry.
5. Drain beans, remove the bay leaves and fresh thyme springs, season with salt and pepper to taste.
6. Please note: Do not salt before the beans are cooked. If they are salted before they will not soften.
7. When cool, divide into 1 cup servings and freeze in rigid container or vacuum pack in small bags.