My mom gave me Rancho Gordo beans for Christmas this past year and I am down to my last pound. For all those who aren't familiar with Rancho Gordo, they are a Californian company that specializes in heirloom beans. They have everything from beans and chiles to corn, herbs, and rice and you can purchase all of their products online. Tonight I will be working with their Vaquero beans. Apparently they are like anasazi beans, but I am not sure what those taste like, so I am preparing them similarly to my black beans recipe.
Now I never soak my beans, I hear it cuts down on cooking time if you do but I always forget. You want the end result to be soft and creamy and this is definitely attainable whether you soak them or not. That being said, just take into consideration that this is a 2-3 hour cooking project, most of which you will sit back and relax for.
1 lb Rancho Gordo Vaquero beans
3 small sweet (not hot) anaheim peppers, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 bay leaves
1/2 tsp of cumin
dash of salt
8 cups water
2 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
Combine all ingredients except vinegar and sugar in a large pot and bring to a boil over med-high heat. Once boiling you can lower the heat to medium and simmer for apprx. 2 1/2 hours. With about 1 hour remaining you will add the sugar and vinegar to the pot. Check on them periodically to make sure you dont need to add more water.
You can salt the beans as you see fit once they are fully cooked, do not salt while they are still cooking though because once the salted water soaks into the beans they will inevitably be over-seasoned.
We served our beans with jasmine rice and a tomato, basil, cucumber salad. Pretty tasty! The beans will freeze for a few weeks if you decide to save them for later, but our plan is to use the leftovers for squash and bean tacos... yum.
Happy Dining!
ranchogordo.com
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