Servings: 4
Anasazi beans are pretty, mottled purple and white beans. They are an ancient and eaten by the Anasazi Indians in the past and now being cultivated in Colorado. They can be found in natural foods stores If you can’t find them, pinto beans are good cooked the same way.
This bean dish is truly simple and very satisfying. Often when I’m riding on the desert, my horse sidles into the shade of a juniper tree and lets me grab a small handful of the blue berries as we pass. There are always a few in my jacket pocket, handy when I want to cook these beans. One of my favorite meals is this dish with Wild Green Salad (page 44) and Piñion Bread (page 32). It is utterly basic and satisfying in the way that complicated food often isn’t.
Ingredients
2 cup dried Anasazi or pinto beans
10 coriander seeds
8 juniper berries
I sm onion
1 Tbsp sunflower seed or light olive oil
1 tsp ground red chili (optional)
1 tsp dried Mexican or Greek oregano
2 ½ qrt water
salt
Directions
Sort through the beans, rinse them well, cover them with cold water, and set them aside for 6 hours or overnight.
Bruise the seeds and berries in a mortar and chop the onion into small squares Warm the oil in a wide-bottomed soup pot; add the onions, coriander seeds, juniper berries, chili, and oregano. Cook together over medium heat for 3 or 4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Drain the beans and add them to the pot along with the fresh water. Bring to a boil; then lower the heat and simmer for 40 minutes. Add salt to taste and continue cooking until the beans are as tender as you like them-probably another 30 minutes or so. When done, check the seasoning. Serve the beans in a bowl with the broth
Suggestion:There are lots of tasty additions you can use-cilantro, mint, scallions, spoonfuls of thick Mexican cream, cheese, and so forth-but try the b-zans plain first. They should have a wonderful clean, uncluttered taste that can be quite refreshing.