Weeknight Crock Pot Dinner

L

Lee Short

Lee Short
Crock Pot 1: veal osso buco in white wine (Brun 02) with anchovy, olives, and mirepoix with a garnish of parsley, garlic, and lemon rind.

Crock Pot 2: Borlotti beans from Rancho Gordo with fresh thyme from the garden and wooly pig jowl bacon. So, so velvety. Just great beans.

Vino: 2002 Marc Morey Chassagne "Virondots" -- a reminder of why some of us choose to cellar this stuff from time to time. Poured a pale straw color; after a sniff I threw it into the decanter. Had the richness to match the beans, and the acid to match the lemon. Couldn't ask for much more. Another recent bottle was not close to this. I've got one more; pray for it, please, Mr Dressner.

EDIT: either I've had too much tasty chardonnay, or there's something up with HTML links (fixed)
 
Kevin,

We're lucky to have the wooly pig guy at the West Seatte Farmers Market, maybe every other Sunday. I bought the jowl bacon from him (he didn't call it guanciale because it is smoked, though not heavily). I've been meaning to make some guanciale myself, but haven't gotten around to it.

Jim,

Indeed Rancho Gordo beans rock, and these Borlotti were right up there with my other favorite varieties (Good Mother Stollard and brown Tepary.
 
I wish steve would get "eye of the goat" back in stock.

I just had some rancho gordo popcorn! But I've been craving some beans for awhile - I'd do some this weekend but expect to be gorging on peas instead.
 
BJ,

FYI, Rancho Gordo has a retail outlet in Napa and I visit often. When we are getting close to the day we leave Sonoma for the east coast, we generally load up. When we are there, likewise.
They also do internet sales.
They are supporting farms, mostly in Mexico, that grow heirloom beans. And they treat the product with respect.
There is also popping corn and hominy in their line-up.
All are dried and need to be soaked (don't throw that water away).

I have had them in complicated concoctions and where they seem to play well but add a textural note that I've never encountered with other beans; yummy.
In simple preparations, they are just about the most delicious thing you can imagine.
Last year, a simple bowl of Rosa de Castillas cooked with some mirepoix was one of the best meals I ever ate (cold day, at a friend's, crust of bread, after working hard).

Something as simple as beans doesn't seem it would be inspiring - well, they are.
Best, Jim

PS No affiliation.
 
1 lb beans (washed, stones removed)
1 onion
1 head of garlic
1 chile de arbol or other spicy chile, not pasilla oaxaquena or other smoked, they are too much. You can also use some of the soaking water from chiles for another recipe
2 sprigs epazote
ground black pepper
12 cups water

combine the above and bring to boil, simmer with an inch of water over beans until they are done to your satisfaction. This might take 45 min for crunchy beans, to 3 hours for soupy beans. 30 min from finish, add a few hojas de aguacate. You could also add some lard.

You can cook down, but don't drain.

Or, any other way you like to cook beans.
 
I've never encountered stones in RG beans.

Sharon, saute some onion and carrot in olive oil, then add some garlic, then add soaked (I usually soak overnight but you really only need 4 hours because these are very fresh beans) beans (any of them although for this prep some may seem more appropriate than others) - if you've washed the beans before soaking, add the remaining liquid as well. Or add water - or stock (I usually use chicken stock). Throw in a few sprigs of thyme and some black pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, cook until beans are the texture you like. Oh, and add salt at some point.

I also cook them with a spoonful of pureed canned chipotles in adobo sauce, cumin, and cilantro at the end - yumola! Man I want some of these beans. Sunday morning - scramble some eggs (softly!), throw them in a tortilla with a bunch of these beans and a bit of salsa fresca - that's good eating!
 
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