Getting Sauced

Last weekend I attended a bachelorette party, and while the details of getting sauced are to remain a secret, I'd still like to share with you a hot, saucy recipe instead.

Cannellini Bean Soup with Pasilla Chile Sauce

The beans:

1 pound Rancho Gordo Cannellini Beans, soaked overnight

1 carrot, chopped

1 onion, chopped

2 celery sticks, chopped

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 tsp olive oil

1 tsp Earth Balance

The sauce:

6 dried pasilla peppers, tops removed, seeds removed

1/2 cup reserved soaking liquid

1 cup warm water

1 green pepper, chopped

1 onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

1 tsp oil

2 tsp Rancho Gordo Mexican oregano

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp salt

In a large stockpot saute onions, carrots, celery

and garlic in oil and Earth Balance butter until soft, about 5 minutes. Add in beans and enough water to cover beans by two inches. Bring to a boil, cover, and simmer for 90 minutes to two hours.

In a dry, heated fry pan, dry roast pasilla peppers until they become fragrant. Transfer to a bowl of water to let them reconstitute for 10-15 minutes. In the fry pan, add oil, onion, garlic, and chopped pepper until soft.

Add onion pepper mix, reconstituted casilla peppers, 1/2 cup reserved liquid, oregano, cumin, and salt to a blender or food processor and pulse until smooth, about 1 minute. Transfer back to fry pan and simmer on low for 15 minutes. Add 1 cup of water. Pour sauce through a sieve or cheesecloth and reserve liquid, discarding solids.

Once beans are fragrant, heady and soft, portion out and stir in 1-2 Tbsp chile sauce.

Tips:

• Rancho Gordo beans are worth the extra money and shipping. Steve can guarantee their freshness and he has some excellent, unique varieties worth trying.
• The original sauce recipe calls for ancho chiles. I used pasilla because I couldn't find ancho and was satisfied with the final product.
• Beans are done cooking when you bite into them and the texture is creamy. For cannellini beans, I have to do a thorough soak and a long cooking process (90 minutes to two hours). Smaller beans, on the other hand, may only take an hour or so.
• Rancho Gordo has a wonderful cookbook entitled, "Heirloom Beans." If you're wanting to, or currently getting into cooking and eating beans, I highly suggest it. I've already tagged about 20 recipes I want to try.
• This recipe was loosely adapted from demo recipes ("Basic Chile Sauce" and "Basic Pot Beans" used by Steve Sando (owner of Rancho Gordo) during an event that I attended at Formaggio Kitchen back in October.

Disclaimer: I was not paid to promote any Rancho Gordo products and did not receive any complimentary items. I use the beans and cookbook regularly and wanted to share with all of my readers!

Question of the Day: What's your favorite bean? Personally, I can't decide which is my favorite. I love them all.


P.S. Come back later this week... I have an amazing cookbook giveaway!