How long to cook rancho gordo beans

As someone who eats mostly meatless, beans and legumes are naturally a big part of my diet. Specializing in growing heirloom beans and legumes indigenous to North and South America, Rancho Gordo operates under the idea that if more beans tasted like theirs, no one would think of them as boring.

Steve Sando, the Napa, California-based founder of Rancho Gordo, started growing his own beans after becoming frustrated with a lack of high-quality produce, particularly when it comes to ingredients that are indiginous to the area. Sando started growing tomatoes, and then began planting beans. But adding beans to this kind of dish is certainly unique. Sando suggests this recipe as a simple main course or side dish, mixing cooked beans, eggs, heavy cream and seasoning in a blender until smooth, then topping with cheese and baking.

The result: a creamy bean casserole. Creamy Royal Coronas sitting in homemade tomato sauce. The flavorful liquid that results from cooking beans — also known as bean pot liquor or pot likker — is not to be forgotten. Beyond simply sipping it, he suggests using it to poach eggs, thin out sauces or as a base for soup. This Rancho Gordo recipe for asparagus-bean broth soup not only uses the extra bean cooking liquid, but also makes use of asparagus bottoms usually tossed into the compost bin for a boost of flavor.

My love of Cassoulet led me to this quick, delicious dish. For some customers, a pound of beans can be intimidating. What to do with all the leftovers from that first simple pot? This is an easy dish. Keep the beans at a boil for about five minutes and then reduce them to a gentle simmer, then cover. I like to see how low I can go and still get the occasional simmering bubble. When the beans are almost ready, the aroma will be heady.

They won't smell so much like the vegetables you've cooked but the beans themselves. At this point. I'd go ahead and salt them. Go easy as it takes awhile for the beans to absorb the salt. If you want to add tomatoes or acids like lime or vinegar, wait until the beans are cooked through.

So you're done! Once you've mastered this method, go ahead and try some different techniques. Your bean friends will swear by this or that method and you should take their advice, keeping in mind there are few absolutes when it comes to cooking beans, only that is very hard work to mess up a pot of beans.