Beans are in almost every country in the world and there are a thousand ways to prepare them. Today we bring you how we do them in Ecuador
Hello everyone, today we will prepare red bean stew, but with this same recipe you can prepare black beans, white beans or whatever you want.
Cooking time:
Pressure cooker: 30-45 minutes from when it starts to whistle
Normal pot: 2 hours
Note: Measure the amount of beans you are going to use, wash them and soak them overnight so that they soften and cook faster.
The next day we wash the beans and prepare them in clean water, however many Ecuadorian families use the water in which they were soaked to cook them. So use the technique that you like the most.
Ingredients
1 green pepper
1 onion (purple or white)
2 garlic cloves
1 tsp of anato paste
1 tbsp oregano
1 vegetable stock cube
1/4 tsp cumin
1 bunch of coriander
2 cups of kidney beans
This recipe is intended for 4 people. So if you want to make more or less quantity, multiply or divide the ingredients and everything will be fine!
Preparation
We will start by preparing a good sofrito and for this we need to cut the onion, green pepper, and garlic very small. In this case we will be doing it all with a knife but you can use a food processor or a blender to save time. Take advantage of this moment and also cut the coriander and reserve it.
Next, add two tablespoons of oil to a pot and add the onion and garlic, sauté for a couple of minutes and add the anato paste (this will help us to give more color to the sauce that we are preparing, but if you don't have anato paste in your country, it's not essential in the recipe), then add the green pepper and cook for 3 to 5 minutes or until the vegetables have reduced in size, add the chopped coriander and mix.
It's time for the main ingredient .. Add the beans, mix a little and add the chicken broth, cumin and approximately 2 liters of water or until the beans are well covered. Season with salt and pepper but not too much, remember that the water you are using will mostly evaporate during cooking and this will make the salt concentrate and the stew could be salty, so my advice is to put two long pinches of salt and a little pepper. When the recipe is finished you can correct the taste by adding more salt if necessary.
Now the worst moment ... wait, cook your stew for 2 hours if you are using a normal pot, or until the beans are soft. If you are using a pressure cooker, first, remember to put plenty of water to prevent them from drying out and burning during cooking, and second, cook them for about 30 to 45 minutes or until the beans are soft.
If at any time your water is evaporating very quickly, do not hesitate to always add a little more water, just make sure it is hot before adding it.
2 minutes before removing the stew from the heat, use a mash, fork or blender to crush or blend the stew a little. This will help us to thicken it without having to use wheat flour or cornstarch. If you don't have any of those utensils, you can scoop out some of the mixture and run it through the blender or food processor and add it back to the pot.
Finally add the oregano, mix and the special touch, a good spoonful of butter. This will add flavor and silky texture to this delicious dish. This is it, it's time to enjoy with your family.
As we always say:
If your plate doesn't look like our image, don't worry! We spent over 40 minutes trying to find the perfect angle for the photo.
If you don't have one of the ingredients on the list or don't like something, feel free to replace it. This recipe is given to make it in many different ways, you can use other types of beans, such as black or white beans.
This recipe is only a guide and you can adapt it to your tastes. So don't stop doing it, you will be surprised how delicious it is!
Remember: "Practice makes perfect"
You can see how we did it in this video and don't forget to subscribe to our Arditos Kitchen YouTube channel: