Under Pressure--Bayou Black Bean Soup

So, this past fall my mother-in-law gave me an old pressure cooker, fixed up and ready for use. You see, she has started using one, and pretty much whenever my MIL gets a bee in her bonnet about something she thinks is great, she thinks I should be on the bandwagon too. Don't get me wrong--this can be great, and is the reason I have received from her my clothes steamer, bread machine, and black leather dress coat, among other things. And am going to receive local classes in Cooking Raw sometime in the next couple of months! (eating more Raw being one of my goals for this year, and luckily my MIL has gotten interested in it at the same time.) But sometimes I don't like the feeling of pressure (ha--cooker!) to be trying new things when I am either a) perfectly content in whatever rut I am in or b) thinking it would make sense to jump on the bandwagon, but not feeling like I have the time or mental energy to do it at the present time. The pressure cooker has been falling into the latter category. I have heard good things about them from MIL and SIL, about how much more quickly foods cook in them. I have also heard that if you are not careful the pot can explode.

I am not much into things exploding, esp. in my kitchen. (Oh, the mess! the horror! Forget the third-degree burns on whomever is nearby--what scares me is the thought of scraping lentils off the ceiling.) So I have been a little scared to try out the pressure cooker, even thought I understand that they are completely safe when used as directed. Slow cookers, like crock pots, seem so tame in comparison, so safe--you can't even tell they are working until you touch the side and burn your finger, like I did just this past Sunday morning.

But just the other day, my friend Alberta--my inspiration in many things healthy and frugal in the kitchen--bragged that she uses a pressure cooker to make up her dry beans, and she can whip up a batch in 30 minutes. Without soaking.

Those of you who cook with dry beans are now probably muttering skeptical things to your computer monitor. Those of you who do not cook with dry beans, well I have two things to say to you: First, you should. They are cheap and good for you. But second, you typically have to soak the beans overnight (or a quick soak method on the stove top that still takes several hours) and then you have to cook them for about 1 1/2 - 2 hours on the stove to get them edible--and if the beans are older and have lost more moisture, they can take even longer. (You do not have to soak lentils or dried peas.) So while dry beans are a great base for a mainly vegetarian diet like ours, they usually require planning ahead.

But I am pretty much a stand-in-front-of-the-open-refrigerator-at-4:00 p.m.-thinking "Hmmmm, what do I want to make for dinner tonight?" kind of gal, and so don't usually remember to soak the beans the night before. So I have been using canned beans more than I would like. But now, if I get up the nerve to use the pressure cooker, I can use dry beans and STILL make my dinner plans that afternoon!

So last night I decided it was a good night for black bean soup, and I only had time to make it if I used the pressure cooker, since of course I forgot to soak the beans the night before. I got myself all psyched up, read all the instructions, googled other instructions, got out the pan and set it all up--and then realized I was all out of dry beans.

D'oh! So, I made the recipe using canned beans and it turned out fine, of course. But next time, I will do it from scratch. ; )

Here are the reasons to use dry beans over canned:
*much cheaper (Mary over at owlhaven figures roughly 1/3rd the cost of canned)
*much tastier
*no additives in your beans like sugar and salt, which are common in canned versions

Here are the reasons to use a pressure cooker to make your dry beans:

*cooks in much, much less time (roughly 20 min. for black beans compared to 1 1/2-2 hours on the stove or even more for the slow-cooker)
*no need to pre-soak your beans
*uses less energy used than conventional stove-top methods (don't know how compares to slow cooker)
*supposedly retains much more nutritional value in the foods being cooked
*you can be lazy and not have to prepare for dinner the night before!

This posting is clearly part public-service announcement and part psyching myself up to try it again. ; ) But when you lay out the benefits like this--it seems like pressure cooking is a clear winner.

And now I cannot resist sharing what was originally the whole reason I sat down to type: an old family recipe that I will call Bayou Black Bean Soup. It is SO yummy--kids love it. The original version is for meat-lovers, and those not counting calories, and for feeding a small army. I'll share it and my own vegetarian version below:

Bayou Black Bean Soup (Original recipe--serves 20-24)

1/2 c olive oil
1/2 lb salt pork or bacon, diced
1 lb ham hocks
8 large onions, chopped
8 cloves garlic, minced
6 stalks celery, including leaves, chopped
2 lbs black beans, sorted and rinsed*
1/2 tsp. cayenne
4 tsp. ground cumin
6 quarts regular strength chicken broth
1/4 c wine vinegar
1 c dry sherry

In a 10-12 quart kettle, cook on medium heat the salt pork (or bacon), ham, onion, garlic and celery until all juices have evaporated, about 40 minutes. Add beans, cayenne, cumin and broth. Bring to a boil on high, then reduce heat, cover, and simmer gently 1 1/2 to 3 hours or until beans mash easily.

When soup is done, discard ham hock skins and bone. Let cool slightly, then whirl in blender until smooth. You can now either chill or re-heat (can be stored, covered, 3 days in fridge).

When reheating to serve, stir in vinegar and sherry. Ladle into bowls and serve at table with the following condiments to top:
--warm Polish sausage or garlic sausage, cut in 1/2 inch slices
--cooked rice (we actually heap a mound under our soup and then top with the rest)
--finely chopped green or red onion (we like red)
--hard boiled eggs, chopped
--lemons cut into wedges, to squeeze over top
--sweet pickle relish
--canned chopped green chilis

Yes, believe it or not, all those toppings actually taste really good on the soup--at the same time! But each to his/her own--my kids at the moment just like the relish, chilis and sausage** on top. Oh, and the lemon--they can't get enough of the lemon!


Bayou Black Bean Soup (vegetarian/easy version--serves a whole lot less)

About 2 Tablespoons olive oil
4 large onions, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped (or more!)
3 stalks celery, including leaves, chopped
1 lb black beans, sorted, soaked and rinsed
1/4 tsp. cayenne
3 tsp. ground cumin
3 quarts vegetable broth (I recommend "Better Than Bullion"--no MSG)
1/4 C wine vinegar
1/2 c dry sherry

Saute veggies in oil until translucent--about 10 min. Then follow rest of directions above.

If anyone out there is feeling adventuresome, please try this! My vegetarian version is frugal and good for you too!



*this original recipe did not say to presoak the beans, but it also requires you to cook the soup for 3 hours, and I found sometimes it took even longer than that.

**Yes, I do warm up sausage for our soup--one of the choices that make us more "flexitarian" than completely vegetarian--and found a great GMO/MSG-free fully-cooked sausage at Costco that was about as healthy as you can get with pork sausage and a good price too.