Beans and cornbread. I think we’ve covered all our Texas bases at this point, haven’t we? I made these for the Texas/OU game the first weekend in October. Pretty dang good football food, right? Gosh, I’m such a nice wife.
If you’ve missed any other Texas-inspired recipes since I’ve been gone, you can find them here:
> tomatillo salsa
> enchiladas verdes
> chile con queso
> migas
> spiced mexican wedding cookies
So, here’s the thing about beans. They’re kind of tough! You’d think they’d be easy as pie but it’s a really delicate balance between getting the beans to the right texture as well as getting the juices just right. You want the juice to be nice and soupy with a thick consistency, and you also want the beans to be done just the right amount; certainly not underdone, but also not done to the point of being mushy.
I struggled to hit that optimum point. My beans were a great texture, but the liquid was not quite as thick as I’d have liked. Also, play with the seasoning – that can also be tough to get bang on. You don’t want them too salty, as the cornbread has salt in it too (and no sugar). I ended up adding some brown sugar to my beans to sweeten them up a tad.
The trick is to play with it, but no worries, there’s plenty of football season left to perfect it.
Beans and Cornbread
adapted from The Pioneer Woman
Beans
Ingredients
- 4 cups pinto beans
- 4 slices thick bacon, cut into 1 inch slices
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 1/2 tbsp brown sugar
Cornbread
Ingredients
- ¼ cup plus 2 tbsp shortening
- 1 cup yellow corn meal
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 cup buttermilk
- ½ cup milk
- 1 whole egg
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
Directions
To make the beans:
- Rinse beans in cool water; pour into a pot, cover with water by 2 to 3 inches. Add the sliced bacon to the pot.
- Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and cover. Simmer 2 hours, or until beans are tender. Add water to pot as needed. Beans should have a thick broth.
- Toward end of cooking time, add salt and pepper and season to taste. Don’t over-salt. Add chili powder. Serve in a bowl with cornbread.
- Serve with a dollop of sour cream , fresh cilantro, and a big hunk of cornbread…
To make the cornbread:
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Place a 9×9 Pyrex dish (or iron skillet) in the oven to get nice and hot.
- Heat 2 tbsp shortening in your Pyrex dish.
- Melt the other 1/4 cup shortening in a pan. Set aside.
- Combine corn meal, flour, and salt in a mixing bowl.
- In a separate bowl, combine buttermilk, milk, and egg. Add baking powder and baking soda. Stir. Add ¼ cup melted shortening, stirring constantly.
- Pour into hot Pyrex dish, smoothing surface with spatula. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown on top.
After getting all over excited about the onset of Spring and the flavours that come with it, I’m having something of a comfort food revival.
This weekend it rained a lot, with no regard for the fact that I needed to fit in 10 miles of half marathon training. Charming.
And rain basically equals me needing to find something hot to conjure up in the kitchen whilst I ignore the outdoors.
Lentils with Kale and Bacon
adapted from For the Love of Cooking
Ingredients
- 5 slices bacon, chopped
- 1 small onion, diced
- 3 carrots, diced
- 2 stalks of celery, diced
- 4 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1 15 oz can of diced tomatoes
- Salt and freshly cracked black pepper, to taste
- 1 tsp cumin
- Pinch of crushed red pepper
- 7 cups of chicken broth
- 3 cups of lentils
- 2-3 cups of kale, chopped
Directions
- Cook the bacon in a large dutch oven over medium heat. Once the bacon is cooked, remove and place on a paper towel.
- Remove all but 1-2 teaspoons of bacon grease from the pan then add the onion, carrots, and celery and sauté for 2-3 minutes.
- Add the garlic and cook stirring constantly for 1 minute.
- Add the tomatoes, salt, freshly cracked pepper, cumin, and crushed red pepper; stir and cook for 2-3 minutes.
- Add the chicken broth, and lentils; stir then cover and simmer for 1 hour.
- Add the fresh chopped kale as well as the cooked bacon and simmer for 5 minutes then serve.
- Serves 8-10. Enjoy with crusty baguette or a country loaf, and a glass of red wine too, if you like (you know I do).
Perfect healthy comfort food for a rainy day!
In order to turn this into a soup, I’d use 2 cups of lentils, rather than 3 or perhaps up the broth levels. This way it’s delicious as a main or side dish. I plan on boxing it up and having it for lunch all week. Yes.
Today I fly to England and go home for the first time in two and a half years! Woopa!
In other news…
When I read blog posts with titles like “A Dinner Date With India and Spain“, I tend to get a bit light headed and woozy. We all know how I feel about Indian food. Oh, we don’t? For more love, see here and here. Yum.
I am also a big fan of Spanish cuisine, namely because I have a crush on a lot of the ingredients used in Spanish cooking (paprika, peppers, olive oil, tomatoes, eggs, Jamon serrano, chorizo…. ah the list goes on).
My parents actually live in Spain and Dan studied there so I’ve spent my fair share of time enjoying the Mediterranean delights on offer there.
But I digress…basically, when someone says “Indian” and “Spanish” in the same sentence, I say “yes please!”. Such was my pleasure in reading about pan-fried chick peas with chorizo and spinach.
So, as I say buh-bye to Minnesota for a couple of weeks (there will still be blog posts!) I leave you with a hodge podge of international cuisines in the form of this recipe.
What is your favourite thing to make with chick peas?
Chana Masala is an absolute winner for me but I would love to make hummus one day.
