Canned beans replaced dried ones as staples in most kitchens long ago. Dried beans come in dozens of varieties, store well, cost far less, have no preservatives and lack canned beans’ excessive salt. Time remains the sticking point: seconds to open a can versus hours until you can eat dried beans.
Still, with the right shortcuts, dried beans are ready faster than you might think. If you spend just a few minutes in the morning, you can enjoy home-cooked dried beans at dinner – and throughout the week. Two of my favorite shortcuts save time and enhance flavor and texture: brining and seasoning.
Forget what you may have heard about salt toughening dried beans. The real reason they might not soften is overly long storage in poor conditions. Water laced with salt and baking soda softens the pectin of even old, hard beans. The salt also flavors beans to their center. Finally, brined beans become creamier and cook faster, sometimes in half the time on the stovetop.
Traditionally, you cook soaked beans in water and again in a recipe. I cook any type of soaked dried bean in vegetable stock and with aromatics. In as little as 45 minutes of simmering in an open pot or six minutes (plus release time) in a pressure cooker, these seasoned pot beans are fully cooked and ready to eat.
Pot beans can also replace canned ones in any cooked recipe, like Vegetarian Red Beans and Rice. A full batch can become a week’s worth of different meals. For later quick meals, freeze pot beans in 1- or 2-cup portions.
Brined and Seasoned Pot Beans
Makes about 6 cups
1-1/2 tablespoons sea salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
2 quarts cold water
1 pound dried beans, rinsed
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped (about 1 cup)
1–2 medium carrots, chopped (about 1 cup)
8 cloves garlic, unpeeled
1 bay leaf
1 tablespoon dried thyme, sage or other herbs
1 dried red chili, crumbled, or 1/4 teaspoon chili paste
6 cups Homemade Vegetable Stock
In a stockpot, stir the salt and baking soda into the water until dissolved. Add the dried beans, cover and let soak for six to 12 hours.
Through the colander, drain and rinse the beans, and then rinse and dry the pot. In it, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onion and carrot and cook for about five minutes, until softened and lightly browned. Add the unpeeled garlic, bay leaf, other dried herbs, chili and drained beans, and then pour in the stock, stirring to combine. Bring to a boil and then simmer gently, uncovered, for 45 to 60 minutes, until the beans are tender.
Remove the pot from the heat and pull out the bay leaf and garlic cloves. Squeeze each garlic clove from its skin back into the pot, and mash it lightly with a spoon. Let rest for five minutes before serving or using. Let cool to room temperature before refrigerating or freezing.
Julie Laing is a Bigfork-based cookbook author and food blogger at TwiceAsTasty.com.