This is one of my favorite scenes from one of my favorite movies.
Last night I soaked pinto beans overnight and slow cooked them all day with the hambone from our Thanksgiving meal. My parents came over today and we watched this movie and enjoyed a very simple meal of beans served with leftover ham and biscuits.
To make scrumptious, slow-cooked beans, the recipe is very simple. You just need a little patience.
Pinto Beans
Ingredients:
1 pound dried pinto beans, sorted and washed and soaked over night in 6 cups water
3-4 cups water
1 large onion, chopped
4 to 8 ounces cooked ham, chopped
include hambone, too, if you have it
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
Cover beans with water and soak overnight; drain. Fill bowl with water again and swirl to loosen any remaing dirt; drain again.
Place beans in a 5- or 6-quart slow cooker with water and remaining ingredients except salt and pepper. You may want to dice green pepper or even hot peppers, optional. If you choose to add diced tomatoes, wait until the last hour or so of cooking. Acid items added can toughen the beans if added too soon.
Cover cooker and cook on low setting for 9 to 11 hours, OR on high setting for 5-6 hours.
Stir a couple of times during cooking and add more water if necessary.
Season with salt and pepper right before serving. If you add the salt too early, it will toughen the beans. Consider other seasonings, too: cumin, chili powder, oregano, it's your beans.
Serve with cornbread, or over rice, or with ham and biscuits. Yum-O!
