Beans and Greens

Well, I have been using canned beans for so long that I have not made a recipe using dried beans in ages.  But, I had some dried beans in the pantry and decided that I wanted to test out the true ease of the pressure cooker for these tough legumes.  Perfect results, every time!

Now, most cooks know that when you begin a recipe with dried beans, you need to soak them first.  There are a number of reasons for soaking beans, and if you need any convincing about this step, here is a site that explains what you need to know: Why should I soak dry beans?  If you are going to soak beans the traditional way, you would need to soak them overnight in 3-4 times the amount of water as you have beans (lentils, split peas and other softer legumes do not need pre-soaking).  To quick soak beans in a pressure cooker, rinse and sort beans, add to pressure cooker with 4 cups of water and 1 teaspoon salt per cup of beans.  (Do not worry so much about sodium content, this first batch of salt water will not penetrate the beans too much and it will be drained away).  Turn heat to high and lock lid in place, bring to full pressure, reduce heat to low and cook for two minutes.  Quick release by running cold tap water over top of pressure cooker in sink.  Drain beans, rinse with fresh water and drain again.  Now your beans are ready for your recipe.

Beans and Greens (Kidneys and Kale)

2 cups dried organic kidney beans
2 bunches organic kale
6 cups water
1 tbsp minced garlic
3 tbsp cumin
2 tbsp coriander
1 tbsp turmeric
2 tsp Better Than Bouillon Vegetable Broth paste

Quick soak your beans as above, rinse, and add 6 cups of water to beans in pressure cooker.  Turn heat to high and lock lid in place.  Bring up to full pressure, reduce heat to low and set timer for 15 minutes.  While beans are cooking, rinse and finely chop kale.  In a small, non stick saute pan, add cumin, coriander and turmeric and heat over medium heat for five minutes or so, stirring every so often so all the spice gets some heat.  It may smoke a bit and fill your home with some nice aromas.  When your timer goes off, quick release steam by running cold tap water over pressure cooker in sink.  When valve drops, remove lid, add remainder of ingredients, including spices, and stir until combined.  Lock lid back on pressure cooker and place back on same burner but be sure heat is turned off.  Set timer for 15 minutes.  Kale is a green that really holds its texture even when cooked.  The resulting "stew" is chewy and meaty without meat!  Serve over cooked brown basmati rice.  This is simple comfort food that will satisfy you and your family any time the weather says "soup tonight?"