Latin home-cooked kidney beans

Having been brought up in Latin America, where pulses are consumed almost daily, I really appreciate the flavour of kidney beans cooked at home rather than served from a tin.

They are extremely easy to prepare but they need to be cooked for some time and also they have to be left to soak overnight first. As a general rule, one cup of dry pulses will expand to about 2-3 cups and almost double in weight when cooked.

Cooking Time: 60 min
Serves: 4

Ingredients:

1 large cupful (about 250g) of red kidney beans soaked overnight, drained and rinsed
1 small green pepper chopped
1 whole head of garlic washed and pierced several times with a sharp knife
Some fresh or dried thyme
A small red chilli finely chopped (optional)
Salt and pepper
Some fresh coriander as a garnish

tierra negra® cooking pots are ideal for slow cooking so they are also the perfect choice for cooking beans. Place the beans in the cooking pot. Add the garlic, chopped pepper and herbs.

Add enough fresh water to cover the beans and bring to the boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook gently for 50 minutes or until tender.

Season with salt, pepper and chilli before serving.

Now tell me if they don’t taste delicious. If you’ve cooked them properly you’ll never open a tin of kidney beans again – unless you’re in a tearing hurry or you forget to soak the beans overnight! Cooked kidney beans go well in salads, soups and, of course, chilli con carne, They are also suitable for freezing so if you cook more than you need you can save them for another time.

Used for cooking: Tierranegra® Cooking pot (2 Litres) and serving: Tierranegra® Traditional soup bowl