White Beans And Another Experiment

One of Bev’s favorite lunches is refried beans which she makes and freezes when we cook a big batch of pintos – they are not really refried but are mashed and doctored with several items.  After bragging about the white beans served to me at Angie’s Kitchen a couple of times, Bev suggested we make some white beans so she can see how they work for her refried beans.  Rather than going to the store, we used a pound each of navy bean and great northern beans that we had on hand and I started with our pinto bean recipe and adjusted it to get the one below.

White Beans

Ingredients:

2 lb. white beans, great northern, navy or mixed

1 qt. country ham broth with diced meat (note)

8 oz canned, chopped green chiles, medium heat

1 cup diced onion

1 tbsp. minced garlic

1 tsp. k. salt + more to taste

1 tsp. pepper

2 tsp. paprika

2 tsp. Tiger Seasoning

2 bay leaves

Water to cover beans and more as needed

Note: I think country ham in some form is the key to about all delicious bean dishes

Directions:

Soak beans overnight in cold water.

Drain beans in a colander.

Add ham broth to a soup pot - note it's richness.

Add beans to the pot and cover with an inch or so of water.

Add the onion, garlic, chiles and seasonings, bring to a boil them simmer until the beans are tender, adding more water as needed.

Taste and add salt if needed (depends on amount of salt in broth)

Forgot the finished pic.

I added some chopped onion and cilantro to mine.

Then Bev made them into her refried beans by adding cheese and picante sauce then mashing them with the potato masher.

The Verdict:

We thought the beans were very good but they had a little of a different taste in the pot, which I attribute to the green chiles.  They made really good refried beans and I’d be hard pressed to say they weren’t just as good as pintos.

And of course, I had to try them for breakfast by nuking with some extra shredded cheddar then topping with a couple of poached eggs – they both stuck to the pan bottom and broke when I took them out but still got most of the yolk and the dish was delicious.

Liked it so well, I had it the next morning with fried eggs and some salsa verde.  

It was awesome and I'm not sure any of these beans will make it into the freezer.

Photos can be enlarged by clicking on them and the blue words are links.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by Almost Heaven South.

Larry

4/1/24 event date