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Wednesday, 2 October 2013

Refried Beans

a vegan sauce

I made bean stew and soaked way too much beans for the folks in the house to consume in a single sitting.  They were beginning to sprout in the bowl so I had to do something with them and I didn't want to make the same dish again.  I remember my vegan friend, Chef Marla (who now resides in Bali), brought refried beans at a dinner party we were in.  I particularly relished that stuff so I made some myself!

It kind of looks like peanut butter, doesn't it?  If you make it without the spices, reduce the salt and use a sweetener (e.g. honey or agave nectar), it's actually going to taste a lot like peanut butter.

beans

This recipe makes a bowl good for I don't know how many people.

You will need:
- 1 cup of dried beans 
- 3 cloves of garlic, coarsely chopped 
- ½ medium sized onion, coarsely chopped 
- ½ teaspoon of marjoram (dried or fresh) 
- 2 tablespoons of olive oil 
- salt and pepper for seasoning 
- water


To make it:
1-3.  Soak the beans on 4 cups of water overnight.  
or   
1.  Add beans to 4 cups of boiling water.  
2.  Bring back to the boil and boil for 5 minutes.  
3.  After 5 minutes, turn the heat off; put the lid on and leave for 2 hours to cool.  
4.  Drain and rinse with cold water.  
5.  Put the beans back in a pan and cover it well with water.  Make sure the water lever is about an inch above the beans. 
6.  Add garlic, onion, marjoram and 2 pinches of salt and a pinch of pepper and bring to the boil.  
7.  When it comes to the boil, bring the heat to low.  Cover with a lid and simmer for 2 hours to tenderise the beans.  Check periodically to make sure the water does not dry up. 
8.  Drain the water out. 
9.  Heat your olive oil in a pan over low heat. 
10.  Drop in a cup of beans at a time and mash it with a masher. 
11.  Add water to increase fluidity--about ¼ cup or more based on your judgement--just not too much. 
or 
9-11.  Put beans with olive oil and ¼ cup of water in a food processor and blend away. 
12.  When all the beans have been mashed to perfection, check seasoning and serve.

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