My friend Andre turned me on to these beans, and they're the best I've ever had. That is not hyperbole, they are the best I've ever had. You still get the rich, smokey flavor without any bacon, lard, butter, or other fat added. Do yourself a favor and buy these Good Mother Stallard beans from Rancho Gordo (I'm sure their other beans are just as good, but I've only had the GMS). They're absurdly easy to prepare and full of flavor.
There are several ways to prepare them, the Rancho Gordo site has lots of recipes, but this is what we've done:
- Chop 2 carrots, 1 celery stalk, and one small onion (we used a white onion)
- Sweat them down in a pan with a little bit of olive oil until they're soft
- Put the vegetables in a slow-cooker with a package (one pound) of (cleaned) beans and 4-5 cups of water (We used 2 cups of Better than Bouillon stock, and 2 cups of water, but use any combo of stock/water you'd like)
- Cook on high in the slow cooker for 5-6 hours, stirring and adding some salt and pepper to taste after about 4 hours
- Enjoy the shit out of them
Serve them however you'd like, but we chose to grate a little bit of grass-fed sharp cheddar on top, with fresh avocado, minced red onion, Italian parsley, and toasted baguette (Chelsi opted out of the cheddar).
This is an insanely tasty and surprisingly filling meal that costs about $2.50 per serving. Serving it over brown rice would stretching the cost even further and adding a complete, whole protein.
Also, since the beans are such a robust, versatile ingredient, you really could experiment with them and try all kinds of combos and flavorings.
Seriously, these are worth trying. Buy them online or at Cookbook Grocery in Echo Park.
