Winter Vegetables and Beans
In other words, I wanted to showcase veggies that are naturally going to taste better at this point in the year, and cook them so that they taste interesting and are not a pile of bland mush on the plate.
Originally, this dish was going to be just vegetables, but then I got totally inspired by these tepary beans that I found at the farm store (they’re only otherwise available at Whole Foods in Arizona). Tepary beans are native to Arizona, and are staples of indigenous cooking.They’re PACKED with fiber (the Nutrition Label says 52g per ½ cup of dried beans (which is about 1c of cooked).
I prefer stovetop cooking of beans, because you can season appropriately, heat them to the correct temperature (because beans are toxic raw or undercooked), and ultimately have control over them. However, tepary beans take 4-6 hours to cook (and need to be soaked at least overnight), so if you use them, this is not a “quick” recipe on the stovetop. In the InstaPot, the cooking time would be greatly reduced.
Tepary beans are very firm in texture and relatively delicate in flavor. You get a little earthiness, but also a slight sweetness – it’s a lighter bean flavor than most beans.
You can actually use pinto beans for this recipe as well, if tepary beans are not available – they cook a LOT faster (on average 45 minutes). I prefer using dried beans, because I love the experience of the slow cooking, but canned beans work just as well (and are even quicker, and you can skip the overnight soaking!).
The other difficult to find ingredient here is going to be the mesquite flour – I am super lucky that I have a woman who forages the mesquite herself in the Sonoran desert, grinds it, and sells it at a local farmer’s market – it is available on Amazon, but if you don’t want to get a whole package without knowing if you like it (it has a sweet, earthy caramel flavor), you can also use toasted flour.
Toasted flour is SUPER easy to make – simply place 1 cup of all-purpose flour (if you are using Gluten Free flour, this works as well), spread evenly in a pan in the oven (put parchment down first) at 350 degrees for 5 minutes, or until flour turns slightly golden brown.
For this recipe, I also used dried chiltepin peppers (another Arizona native plant), which are tiny, berry-like peppers with heat comparable to a habanero. These are available on Amazon, but they are expensive – you can also use red pepper flakes for a more affordable and accessible option.
This recipe utilizes two cooking techniques for the vegetables – the vegetables (beets and carrots) are par-steamed until JUST under tender, then transferred to a pan and sautéed with oil, apple cider vinegar, cumin, salt, and honey, and glazed while they finish cooking. It is important to cook like vegetable colors together, particularly when dealing with beets, as beets stain everything – if that matters to you. It will taste the same either way regardless.
To add some additional flavor and cut some of the sweetness, I cooked one group of veggies without the honey (sautéing them with cumin, salt, oil, and apple cider vinegar until tender). This gave the dish balance when eaten all together – sweetness, spice, acid, and earthiness in each bite.
If you want this to cook even quicker, use canned beans and dice your vegetables small – that way you can skip the steaming and just pan sauté them in oil and cumin. Add the vinegar and honey at the end, so they don’t burn/turn acidic.
This is a great dish if you are a vegetarian, but would also be great with either pork or chicken as well!
Winter Vegetables and Beans
Ingredients
For the Beans
- 2 cups beans (tepary or pinto) dried and soaked overnight or longer
- 1 medium yellow onion diced
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 3 tbsp mesquite flour (or toasted flour)
- salt to taste
- apple cider vinegar to taste
- red pepper flakes/dried chili flakes to taste
For the Vegetables
- 1 bag carrots peeled
- 6 small beets (red and golden) peeled
- 2 tbsp honey
- 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 2 tsp cumin
- salt to taste
Instructions
- Soak beans overnight (or up to 24 hours if using tepary beans). Rinse well.
- In stock pot, add 1 tbsp olive oil to pan. Add diced onions, and cook, stirring frequently, until onions are translucent. Add salt, cumin, and red pepper flakes (start with 1/2 tsp for mild) and cook for an additional minute, stirring frequently.
- Add beans and cover with water/vegetable stock. Liquid should be 2" above the beans. Bring to a a boil for 20 minutes, and reduce to simmer, and cook until beans are tender (45 mins - 4 hours). You might need to add warm water periodically - do not let the water evaporate/absorb fully.
- Once beans are cooked, add mesquite flour and stir until combined. Stir at low heat until broth thickens. Add vinegar to taste. Check for salt and spice levels. Add salt and pepper flakes if needed.
- Set aside.
- Chop or dice carrots and beets into 2" pieces.
- Prepare steamer and water for steaming. For extra flavor, add 1/4 c apple juice, 1 tsp cumin, and 3-4 garlic cloves to water.
- Steam carrots and beets until almost tender, adding more liquid as needed - steam like colors together so the colors don't bleed.
- Divide vegetables into 2 groups (by color is best, if you are using more than one color). Add 1 group to a hot pan coated in oil. Stir to coat. Add 1 tsp cumin. Then, add 1T vinegar and 2T honey, stirring constantly, until vegetables are coated and have reached desired doneness. Salt to taste.
- Repeat with the other vegetables, this time leaving out the honey.
- Plate: 1/2-3/4c beans, equal parts glazed(with honey) vegetables and sautéed (without honey). Salt final dish to taste as needed.
