Clay Pot-Cooked Legumes

[slkinsey]

Yum! One of my favorite bean preparations is to simmer dried beans until barely al dente in copious amounts of water, then drain them well + let them cool. Just before dinner, I'd put an unhealthy amount of strong-flavored good quality evoo in a saute pan, drop in the beans with two whole cloves of garlic and let the whole thing slowly come up to temperature. At the last minute, on goes a handfull of chopped parsley, a generous pinch of flaked red pepper, some Maldon sea salt and a glug of raw evoo. You can really taste the difference between different bean varietals.

[Carolyn Tillie]

Yum!  One of my favorite bean preparations is to simmer dried beans until barely al dente in copious amounts of water, then drain them well + let them cool.  Just before dinner, I'd put  an unhealthy amount of strong-flavored good quality evoo in a saute pan, drop in the beans with two whole cloves of garlic and let the whole thing slowly come up to temperature.  At the last minute, on goes a handfull of chopped parsley, a generous pinch of flaked red pepper, some Maldon sea salt and a glug of raw evoo.  You can really taste the difference between different bean varietals.

Regarding copious amounts of water... From Paula's new book:

You don't have to cook beans in a large amount of water. In fact, it's actually better if you use less. As Harold McGee writes in his  On Food and Cooking, Science and Lore of the Kitchen:  

     "And it  turns out, contrary to what we would expect, that seeds (beans) will actually absorb more water in a smaller volume of water: the less cooking water, the fewer carbohydrates are leached out, and the carbohydrates will take up about 10 times their own weight in water. This means, then, that seeds (beans) will seem softer in a given time if cooked in a minimal amount of liquid. So give the seeds enough water both to soak up and to cook in (many a pan bottom has been charred because the cook forgot that beans imbibe), but don't drown them."

This is part of what I discovered between my two experiments. Despite the first attempt with the diffuser, I used copious of amounts of water and literally drowned my beans. Last night, I used far less with a better result!

Edited January 8, 2004 by Carolyn Tillie (log)

[Rachel Perlow]

For basically simmering beans in water with flavorings, what was the benefit to using the sand clay pot over, say, a small stock pot with a heavy bottom?

[Carolyn Tillie]

This is part of what Paula has been teaching me -- do an experiment yourself (if you have a clay pot) and cook the same bean, side-by-side, in both a metal pot and a clay pot.

There IS a difference and I'm not a Clay Pot Convert!

I'm sure she can elaborate more on the chemistry of it all...

[Wolfert]

The cooking of beans in a clay pot produces a creamier texture due to the slow even cooking.

You don't have to cook beans in a large amount of water. In fact, it's actually

better if you use less. As Harold McGee writes in his On Food and Cooking, Science

and Lore of the Kitchen:

"And it turns out, contrary to what we would expect, that seeds will actually

absorb more water in a smaller volume of water: the less cooking water, the fewer

carbohydrates are leached out, and the carbohydrates will take up about 10 times their own weight in water. This means, then, that seeds will seem softer in a given time if cooked in a minimal amount of liquid. So give the seeds enough water both to soak up and to cook in (many a pan bottom has been charred because the cook forgot that beans imbibe), but don't drown them."

[winesonoma]

Mother never forgave me for melting her favorite teapot on the stove. Try melting a stainless pot with aluminum disc in bottom. Pics available

[foodie52]

I cooked Apaloosa beans in my crockpot yesterday: they slow-cooked in a mxture of water, salsa, stewed tomatoes and a ham hock for 12 hours but still didn't get soft enough. I had to transfer them to a pot and simmer them on the stove for another half hour before serving.

I find this whole bean thing intriguing...the less liquid vs more liquid in particular. I love slkinsey's preparation!

[Wolfert]

You might want to add the tomatoes after the beans soften. I think the acidity in the tomatoes stunts the softening of the beans while cooking.

[snowangel]

Is there an advantage to doing this (with clay pot) stovetop instead of in the oven?

[Carlovski]

Woh!

No idea how that happened.

Is it possible that some sort of Electric current was generated in the diffuser? That could possible do it, I cant see how any domestic ring could produce enough heat to melt aluminium.

[Wolfert]

Is there an advantage to doing this (with clay pot) stovetop instead of in the oven?

I think it's better to oven cook beans in a sand\clay pot . For example, I learned an amazing and wonderful method to cook chickpeas and large white beans from a Greek dance troupe on the island of Paros using a partially-glazed claypot. Chickpeas are soaked and cooked with just enough water to cover along with some very finely grated onions, bay leaves, a pinch of salt and plenty of olive oil. The pot is sealed and the chick peas are baked in a slow oven; the results are a revelation---cooked to a silken tenderness. If you leave them to cool in the liuqid in the pot and then reheat,the skins are not only tender but taut and don't float around.

[Jinmyo]

Chickpeas are soaked and cooked with just enough water to cover along with some very finely grated onions, bay leaves, a pinch of salt and plenty of olive oil. The pot is sealed and the chick peas are baked in a slow oven; the results are a revelation---cooked to a silken tenderness. If you leave them to cool in the liuqid in the pot and then reheat,the skins are not only tender but taut and don't float around.

That's interesting. Especially about the skins.

[Wolfert]

I think the slight chilling sets the skins, then when the chickpeas re reheated they just stay in place.

[Jim Dixon]

I'd put  an unhealthy amount of strong-flavored good quality evoo

Sam...there's no such thing as an "unhealthy amount" of good extra virgin olive oil.

Carolyn...couldn't you cook the beans in the oven instead of on top of the stove? That's how I cook mine, altho' I use a garage sale ceramic bean pot (and why are they always brown?). I get the same low and slow advantage and nothing seems to melt (except the crushed whole garlic).

Jim

[fifi]

This whole discussion may explain why I prefer my beans done in a crockpot on low. And, I use just enough liquid to cover. The theory behind that makes some sense even though I never really thought about it. I guess that part of McGee didn't stick in my brain.

[Wolfert]

There is a difference in taste between beans cooked in a stoneware crockpot and those cooked in a partially glazed earthenware pot in the oven. This is especially true when you always cook the beans in the same earthenware pot.....as a Turkish friend said to me about this very subject: "the beans act like the pot is an old friend"

Edited January 9, 2004 by Wolfert (log)

[fifi]

Paula... Are you talking about unglazed inside surface earthenware? That would make some sense because it would build up absorbed flavors over time.

[Wolfert]

My pot's top is unglazed; the inside of the main body has a thin slip of a glaze.

For tagines and Eastern Mediterranean stews I use unglazed very heavy pots that are rich in mica and a tiny bit of quartz; these really show my point.

[fifi]

I think that the clay imparts a flavor of its own as well. Water from an unglazed terra cotta jar, chilled by evaporation in dry desert air, is about the most delicious water you will ever drink.

[Wolfert]

I think we're on the same page...

[trillium]

I use my sa po (sandpot) all the time on an aluminum diffuser coated with some non-stick surface, both when I had an electric stove and now a gas stove. I've never run into the problem Carolyn showed.

A tip -- if you're going to buy one in an Asian grocery store I suggest you ask to fill them with water at the butcher counter to make sure they don't leak. Asian grocery stores usually also carry more expensive and sturdy clay pots than the sandpots, but at prices lower than what you'll find in specialty stores.

regards,

trillium

[BettyK]

There is a difference in taste between beans cooked in a stoneware crockpot and those cooked in a partially glazed earthenware pot in the oven. This is especially true when you always cook the beans in the same earthenware pot.....as a Turkish friend said to me about this very subject: "the beans act like the pot is an old friend"

Do you use a sandpot for lentils?

[Wolfert]

For Turkish red lentil soup, I have used my sand pot because there is a lot of slow steady cooking needed to obtain a luscious texture.

On the other hand, for lentilles du puy I have only used my all clad saucepan.

Edited January 10, 2004 by Wolfert (log)

[Ellen Shapiro]

Note: This thread was split off from the Freaky Cooking Disaster thread in the Adventures forum. Thanks.

[fifi]

Question... If I find the clay pot I am looking for, should I have one for Mediterranean style cooking (like the bean dishes) and another one for Asian (like braised meats)? I am wondering if the seasonings from one would permeate the pot and make it not so good for the other.