The Cook's Illustrated Cookbook (109 page)
Read The Cook's Illustrated Cookbook Online
Authors: The Editors at America's Test Kitchen
Tags: #Cooking
SERVES 6 TO 8
If you are pressed for time you can “quick-brine” your beans. In step 1, combine the salt, water, and beans in a large Dutch oven and bring to a boil over high heat. Remove the pot from the heat, cover, and let stand 1 hour. Drain and rinse the beans and proceed with the recipe. If you can’t find andouille sausage, substitute kielbasa. Tasso can be difficult to find, but if you use it, omit the bacon and paprika in step 2 and cook 4 ounces finely chopped tasso in 2 teaspoons vegetable oil until lightly browned, 4 to 6 minutes, then proceed with the recipe. In order for the starch from the beans to thicken the cooking liquid, it is important to maintain a vigorous simmer in step 2. The beans can be cooled and refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 2 days. To reheat, add enough water to the beans to thin them slightly.
Salt and pepper | |
1 | pound small red beans (2¹⁄ |
4 | slices bacon, chopped fine |
1 | onion, chopped fine |
1 | small green bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and chopped fine |
1 | celery rib, minced |
3 | garlic cloves, minced |
1 | teaspoon fresh thyme |
1 | teaspoon sweet paprika |
2 | bay leaves |
¹⁄ | teaspoon cayenne pepper |
6 | cups water |
3 | cups low-sodium chicken broth |
8 | ounces andouille sausage, halved lengthwise and sliced ¹⁄ |
1 | teaspoon red wine vinegar, plus extra for seasoning |
1 | recipe |
3 | scallions, sliced thin |
Hot sauce (optional) |
1.
Dissolve 3 tablespoons salt in 4 quarts cold water in large bowl or container. Add beans and soak at room temperature for at least 8 hours or up to 24 hours. Drain and rinse well.
2.
Heat bacon in Dutch oven over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until browned and fat is almost fully rendered, 5 to 8 minutes. Add onion, green pepper, and celery and cook, stirring frequently, until vegetables are softened, 6 to 7 minutes. Stir in garlic, thyme, paprika, bay leaves, cayenne, and ¹⁄
4
teaspoon black pepper and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in beans, water, and broth and bring to boil over high heat. Reduce heat and vigorously simmer, stirring occasionally, until beans are just soft and liquid begins to thicken, 45 to 60 minutes.
3.
Stir in sausage and 1 teaspoon vinegar and cook until liquid is thick and beans are fully tender and creamy, about 30 minutes. Season with salt, pepper, and additional vinegar to taste. Serve over rice, sprinkling with scallions and passing hot sauce separately, if desired.
BRINING BEANS
Why does soaking dried beans in salted water make them cook up with softer skins? Calcium and magnesium, two minerals present in beans, strengthen the cell walls of the bean skins, making it difficult for water to penetrate the skins and soften the beans. These minerals are also commonly found in tap water. You could use distilled water to avoid reinforcing the toughening effect of the minerals, but a handier and more effective solution is to add salt to tap water. As the beans soak, the sodium ions in the salt replace some of the calcium and magnesium ions in the skins. Because sodium ions are weaker than mineral ions, they allow more water to penetrate into the skins, leading to a softer texture. During soaking, the sodium ions will only filter partway into the beans, so their greatest effect is on the cells in the outermost part of the beans.
W
HY THIS RECIPE WORKS
Refried beans are all too often mealy, dry, and flavorless. We wanted deeply flavored refried beans that boasted a rich, creamy texture. In traditional
frijoles refritos
, dried pinto beans are cooked in lard and mashed. To start, we found that dried beans aren’t essential—rinsed canned pinto beans work just fine. For authentic flavor, we reached for salt pork, which we sautéed to render its fat. Using the fat to cook the onion and chiles deepened the flavor of the beans exponentially. Processing a portion of the beans with broth created the creamy texture we were after, while pulsing the remaining beans ensured some chunky bites. Onion, garlic, two types of chiles, and cumin gave the dish complexity, and cilantro and lime juice added at the end gave our refried beans brightness.
SERVES 4 TO 6
Refried beans are an essential
component of our
HUEVOS RANCHEROS
.
¹⁄ | cup low-sodium chicken broth |
2 | (15-ounce) cans pinto beans, rinsed |
1 | tablespoon vegetable oil |
3 | ounces salt pork, rind removed, chopped fine |
1 | small onion, chopped fine |
1 | jalapeño chile, stemmed, seeded, and minced |
1 | poblano chile, stemmed, seeded, and minced |
¹⁄ | teaspoon salt |
3 | small garlic cloves, minced |
¹⁄ | teaspoon ground cumin |
1 | tablespoon minced fresh cilantro |
2 | teaspoons lime juice (optional) |
1.
Process broth and all but 1 cup beans in food processor until smooth, about 15 seconds, scraping down bowl if necessary. Add remaining beans and process until slightly chunky, about 10 pulses.
2.
Heat oil in 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Add salt pork and cook, stirring occasionally, until fat has rendered and pork is well browned, about 10 to 15 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer pork to small bowl and discard (you should have about 2 tablespoons of fat left in skillet).
3.
Increase heat to medium-high and add onion, chiles, and salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and beginning to brown, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cumin and cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add beans and stir until thoroughly combined. Reduce heat to medium and cook, stirring occasionally, until beans are thick and creamy, about 5 minutes. Stir in cilantro and lime juice, if using, and serve.
RINSING CANNED BEANS
Canned beans are made by pressure-cooking dried beans directly in the can with water, salt, and preservatives. As the beans cook, starches and proteins leach into the liquid, thickening it. To find out if rinsing the beans is really necessary, we used canned beans in two recipes: chickpeas for
RESTAURANT-STYLE HUMMUS
and red kidney beans for
SIMPLE BEEF CHILI WITH KIDNEY BEANS
. Tasters found no difference in the chili; there are so many bold flavors and contrasting textures in this dish that rinsing the beans didn’t matter.
We detected notable differences in the hummus. Most tasters thought the version with rinsed beans was brighter in flavor and less pasty than the version with unrinsed beans. So while rinsing the beans may not be necessary for a robust dish like chili, a thick, salty bean liquid does have the potential to throw a simpler recipe, such as hummus (or Refried Beans), off-kilter. As rinsing beans only takes a few seconds, we recommend doing so.
WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS
For beans with a creamy texture and well-seasoned flavor, forget conventional wisdom, which warns against salting beans before they’re cooked. Our testing revealed that adding salt to the overnight soaking liquid (2 teaspoons per quart of water)—in effect “brining” the beans—yields better-seasoned and more evenly cooked results. We also found that a bay leaf and garlic add complementary flavors.
SERVES 4 TO 6
These beans are especially good served with braised meats like
LAMB SHANKS BRAISED IN RED WINE WITH HERBES DE PROVENCE
in lieu of mashed potatoes or polenta. If you’re serving them with less rich fare, drizzle the beans with extra-virgin olive oil and season them with salt and pepper.
Salt | |
8 | ounces dried cannellini beans (1¹⁄ |
4 | garlic cloves, peeled |
1 | bay leaf |
1.
Dissolve 4 teaspoons salt in 2 quarts cold water in large bowl or container. Add beans and soak at room temperature for at least 8 hours or up to 24 hours. Drain and rinse well.
2.
Bring beans, garlic cloves, bay leaf, and 7 cups water to simmer in large saucepan. Simmer, partially covered, until beans are just tender, 30 to 40 minutes. Off heat, stir in 1¹⁄
2
teaspoons salt, cover, and let stand until completely tender, about 15 minutes longer. Drain beans; discard garlic cloves and bay leaf. Serve.
WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS
There are several routes we could have taken for cooking fresh artichokes—roasting, braising, boiling, microwaving, or steaming—and we found steaming produced evenly cooked artichokes with an intense, rich flavor and was easy and quick. Some recipes call for snipping the tip of each sharp, pointy leaf, but we found we could skip this tedious step since the tips soften as they cook. We also found adding a lemon to the pot, as directed in a lot of recipes, didn’t help preserve the color of vegetable—it turned a muddier green color no matter what—so we skipped that step. A steamer basket proved useful but not necessary when we steamed whole artichokes, as we could use the artichoke’s trimmings as a rack. Our method worked well for hearts as well as whole artichokes and, complemented by a flavorful vinaigrette, they were a guaranteed success.
See “PREPARING ARTICHOKE HEARTS FOR STEAMING” illustrations that follow recipe.