Beans and chipotles

Remember these beans? We had a large batch in the freezer that we needed to use to free up some space, so we made some soup. The batch was really big, and we were left wondering what else we could do with these beauties.

The inspiration came from a glass of leftover chipotles in adobo sauce that was (and still is) in our fridge. Chipotles are jalapeno peppers that have been dried and smoked. These chillies are preserved in small tins with adobo sauce, which is a concoction of tomato, vinegar, garlic etc. Both the sauce and the chillies are quite used in mexican cooking. What is really unusual about this ingredient is the smokiness paired with the acidity of the vinegar and the spiciness of the peppers. Very inspiring!

Our creation: fry some finely chopped onion in olive oil until golden, and then add good quality tinned tomatoes. Cook on low heat until the sauce comes together. Then add a couple of the smoked jalapenos finely diced, and a few tablespoons of the adobo sauce. Check for salt and keep simmering on very low heat. Then you need to cook the beans. The best is to use a pressure cooker: the beans, a bit of olive oil, add enough water to barely cover, close the pot and cook for 8 minutes after the pot starts whistling. Now add the strained cooked beans to the sauce along with a few tablespoons of the cooking liquid and simmer on low heat until the flavours meld, adding more liquid as needed. Serve with sauteed turnip greens and crusty bread.