How do you Cook this? Ideas wanted.

[BeanDip4All]

Never made bean soup before, but this mixture of beans caught my eye in the bodega a few days ago and I couldn't resist the colorful blend.

There are no instructions, it just reads "bean soup mix" on the label. Any tips? Do you have to soak them overnight beforehand? What do you add to the soup?



Thoughts on what you can put in it? The more veggies the better, imo. Hoping for something healthy, less towards chili and more towards lotsa veggies....

Thanks,
Ceej

[dk_alaskan]

And you call yourself BEANDIP???

[GeoMatt]

Soak over night. Toss in a crock pot with a couple of ham hocks, onions, can or two of stewed tomatoes, seasoning to taste. Let 'er rip for a few hours. Take out the ham hocks, take the meat off the bone, discard bone. Meat back in with the rest - Serve. Easy meal with very little work. Will feed you for a week.

[Crampedon]

dice up some mirepoix (onions carrots celery) and saute' it in a big pot, add some chopped garlic too. When it gets a little browned add the bean mix, rinse them off first in a strainer. Add water to 3" below the rim. Add few table spoons of chicken base powder or ham base cubes and simmer until done, 2 hours -+.

If you buy a spiral cur ham save the bone with all the nuggies on it and make a stock with that. Hit it good with salt and pepper too. Google split-pea soup recipe.

[dk_alaskan]

as for the beans, soak them before hand, helps to cut down on unwanted "results"

[gatorboy]

dice up some mirepoix (onions carrots celery) and saute' it in a big pot, add some chopped garlic too. When it gets a little browned add the bean mix, rinse them off first in a strainer. Add water to 3" below the rim. Add few table spoons of chicken base powder or ham base cubes and simmer until done, 2 hours -+.

If you buy a spiral cur ham save the bone with all the nuggies on it and make a stock with that. Hit it good with salt and pepper too. Google split-pea soup recipe.

1. Soak beans with room temp water for 8-10 hours. Be sure to have enough water because they will double in size. DISCARD WATER.
2. Follow above recipe. Takes longer to make own stock though. About 4 hours with bones. Add bean with 2 hours to go.
3. Add chopped and unrinsed potatoes 1.5 before finished to thicken it up.
4. Add vinegar to taste


I will be making this on Sunday. Get a loaf of great bread and enjoy.


Edit: Just go here - good bean site http://www.centralbean.com/storeandsoak.html

[highangle]

Cassoulet




* 1 lb dried beanz (usually Great Northern or some other white beans)
* 8 1/4 cups cold water
* 2 cups beef broth
* 1 tablespoon tomato paste
* 2 cups chopped onion (3/4 lb)
* 3 tablespoons finely chopped garlic (6 large cloves)
* 1 (3-inch) piece celery, cut into thirds
* 3 fresh thyme sprigs
* 1 Turkish or 1/2 California bay leaf
* 3 whole cloves
* 3 fresh flat-leaf parsley sprigs plus 1/2 cup chopped leaves
* 1/4 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
* 1 (14-oz) can stewed tomatoes, puréed or finely chopped with juice
* 4 confit duck legs* (1 3/4 lb total)
* 1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil (if necessary)
* 1 lb cooked garlic pork sausage* or smoked pork kielbasa, cut crosswise into 1/3-inch-thick slices
* 2 cups coarse fresh bread crumbs (preferably from a baguette)
* 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
* 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Preparation

Soak and cook beans:
Cover beans with cold water by 2 inches in a large bowl and soak 8 to 12 hours. Drain in a colander.

Transfer beans to a 6- to 8-quart pot and bring to a boil with 8 cups cold water, broth, tomato paste, onion, and 2 tablespoons garlic. Put celery, thyme, bay leaf, cloves, parsley sprigs, and peppercorns in cheesecloth and tie into a bundle with string to make a bouquet garni. Add bouquet garni to beans, then reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, until beans are almost tender, 45 minutes to 1 hour. Stir in tomatoes with juice and simmer until beans are just tender, about 15 minutes more.

Prepare duck and sausage while beans simmer:
Remove all skin and fat from duck legs and cut skin and fat into 1/2-inch pieces. Separate duck meat from bones, leaving it in large pieces, and transfer meat to a bowl. Add bones to bean pot.

Cook duck skin and fat with remaining 1/4 cup cold water in a 10-inch heavy skillet over moderate heat, stirring, until water is evaporated and fat is rendered, about 5 minutes. Continue to cook, stirring frequently, until skin is crisp, 3 to 6 minutes more. Transfer cracklings with a slotted spoon to paper towels to drain, leaving fat in skillet. (You should have about 1/4 cup fat; if not, add olive oil.)

Brown sausage in batches in fat in skillet, then transfer to bowl with duck meat, reserving skillet.

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Make bread crumb topping:
Add remaining tablespoon garlic to fat in skillet and cook over moderate heat, stirring, 1 minute. Stir in bread crumbs and cook, stirring, until pale golden, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in chopped parsley, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, and cracklings.

Assemble casserole:
Remove bouquet garni and duck bones from beans and discard, then stir in kielbasa, duck meat, remaining teaspoon salt, and remaining 1/4 teaspoon pepper.

Ladle cassoulet into casserole dish, distributing meat and beans evenly. (Meat and beans should be level with liquid; if they are submerged, ladle excess liquid back into pot and boil until reduced, then pour back into casserole dish.) Spread bread crumb topping evenly over cassoulet and bake, uncovered, in lower third of oven, until bubbling and crust is golden, about 1 hour.

* Available at some butcher shops and D'Artagnan (800-327-8246).

Cooks' note: • Cassoulet can be assembled (but not baked) 1 day ahead. Cool casserole before adding topping, then top and chill, loosely covered. Let stand at room temperature 30 minutes before baking.

[Tippster]

Soak beans over night on counter
Discard water

Dice some bacon and put it in bottom of soup/stock pot with a tablespoon water. Heat pot, stir (bacon will turn rubbery at first when it boils) let water evaporate and bacon will start to fry. Brown bacon bits, remove with slotted spoon, and dump bacon grease. Leave fond on bottom of pot.

Make Mirepoix (see Crampedon's post.) Saute Mirepoix in same pot w/some Olive Oil until liquid is out of onions and they start to brown at the edges. Mince Garlic and throw in mirepoix - saute another 30 seconds until garlic becomes fragrant.

Take 1 cup white wine and deglaze pot, scraping up burnt/browned bits off the bottom. Add bacon bits, 2 Bay leaves, beans, and enough Chicken Stock to cover beans 1". Bring to a boil, then lower to a slow simmer.

Taste - add salt, pepper, hot sauce, soy sauce, Curry powder, Garam Masala, Creole seasoning - whatever you like - to taste. Simmer gently for 2 hours until all flavors blend. If you want to add Kielbasa/Andouille/Chorizo/any pre-cooked or smoked meat dice it up and add to pot during the simmer.

[BeanDip4All]

If you want to add Kielbasa

SOLD

thank you everyone for the suggestions! i'm cooking it on wednesday (working crazy hours until then) so I will let you know how it turns out when i finally have time to sit down and make this.

hungry already

and yes, dk, it was not lost on me that i was asking how to cook beans and my name is beandip!

[AbsolutStoli]

soak beans overnight. discard water. put in soup pot, cover with cold water plus ~2" more. cut some aromatics (mirepoix, maybe minus the leeks...i like to do a roll cut for the carrots so the pieces are all about the same size). bruise a lemongrass stalk with the back of the blade and toss in. crush some garlic cloves and toss in. bay leaf, peppercorns, thyme sprig or few. chipotle paste to taste. cook until the beans are tender, but not falling apart. add some shrimp and diced tomatoes and red bell peppers (if you like) towards the end. continue until shrimp is cooked. finish with chopped cilantro and maybe a squeeze of lime and season to taste. i like it with crusty bread.

our prep guys make this sometimes in the morning when its cold. i cant even tell you how awesome it is, especially after a night of drinking. i dont really know the recipe, but its super simple, but soooo good.

[haydukelives]

if you dont want to wait for the beans to soak,just bring them to a boil,toss water,repeat until water has no color left

[runethechamp]

Maybe you should ask your parking spot neighbor?

[snoboy]

My tip is to bring the beans to a boil first, then replace water and soak, they will soak easier...

[Shredhead]

Looks like your bodega repackaged Hurst's 15 bean soup and added about 50% markup.


http://www.hurstbeans.com/

[gatorboy]

Cooked my 15 bean soup yesterday.
Sear ham hocks and cooked chorizo sausage (something I had left over from breakfast)
remove and cook onions for a bit, then add garllc
Add ham hocks, cut sausage, and beans that soaked overnight.
Add water to cover plus a couple of inches more
low covered simmer for 2.5 - 3 hours. add diced potatoes for the last 30 minutes or so.

Add salt, pepper and vinegar to taste.

Thickening is a question. It will get thicker the next day, but I needed to add a bit of mixed flour and butter (or make a roux) and whisk it in.