Apr 04 2013
I was getting hungry for some beans. I had some smoked pulled pork leftovers and some yellow eyed beans. Yellow eyed beans look like light brown eyed peas but unlike black eyed peas they are a bean. They are popular in Maine and use for baked beans. I never see them in the groceries here in Ohio and order mine from Amazon.
I found a recipe called Rancho Gordo yellow eyed beans that sounded like it would be good with smoked pork. It is actually an all veggie soup but I changed some of the seasoning and ingredients and added smoked pulled pork. The recipe also used the cooking liquid from the beans. It is part of the broth flavor, earthy with a slight lemon taste from the zest.
I had soaked the beans overnight along with a teaspoon of baking soda. My mother in law used to do this saying the baking soda cut down on the gas some people get from beans.
We went to our grandson’s soccer game at 11:30 today and got to see him score two nice goals. After the game the wife and I sat out and enjoyed the nice weather. I started getting my soup together about 2:00 and got it all done by 4:00 so I just turned it down to low and partially covered until we ate about 5:30. I had some crusty garlic bread to serve with it and some shaved parmesan cheese on top of the soup.
My wife had planned on eating something else, she does not like beans very well except in chili. I told her to just try some. She took a couple bites and said yes that is good. We both had a large bowl of it with bread and butter. Since I love beans I will try the yellow eyed beans in some other recipes and maybe the wife will like it. To me they are a little sweeter, than most beans and not as starchy.
Later I would say the baking soda did not do its job!
I was not sure where to post this, I think we need a soup and stew category.
Recipe:
Smoked pork and yellow eyed bean soup
For the beans:
2 cups yellow eyed beans, two quarts water
1 large carrot peeled
2 ribs celery
1 small onion quartered
3 cloves garlic peeled and crushed
Stems from one bunch Italian parsley
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
Lemon zest from a ¼ of lemon
1 tablespoon salt
A few turns of a pepper grinder to taste
For the soup:
2 cups smoked pork diced small; I used some smoked pulled pork
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 large carrots peeled and diced
2 large ribs celery cut in half and sliced
2 green onions sliced thin
3 cloves garlic peeled and chopped
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 teaspoon dried cracked rosemary
1 can diced tomatoes, with juice
2 tablespoons fresh parsley sliced thin and chopped
Cover the beans in water at least 2 inches over the beans and add a teaspoon baking soda. Soak them overnight.
Drain the beans, rinse and place in a pot, add two quarts of water, veggies and seasoning listed above for beans. Bring to a boil then simmer for 30 minutes, check the beans and they should be just tender and not mushy. If not cook until they are done to suit you. I did mine for 45 minutes. Turn off the burner, remove the veggies and discard, add 1 tablespoon salt, set aside and let cool at least 10 minutes. I thought mine were a little too salty so you might want to just add 1 teaspoon and check later. Individuals can also add salt to their taste when served.
While the beans are cooling in their liquid, add the olive oil to a large pot on medium heat. Add all the veggies listed above for soup except the tomatoes and parsley. Cook until the veggies are cooked through. Add the can of diced tomatoes with juice and cook until liquid is almost gone. Add the smoked pork and stir in, heat a couple of minutes. Add in the beans along with the cooking liquid. Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer and cook for one hour. At this point I turned mine down to low and partially covered to hold until supper time about two hours later. Before serving stir in the chopped fresh parsley
Notes: Use diced tomatoes of your choice; I used Hunt’s fire roasted garlic tomatoes. If you like heat you could also add hot pepper sauce or have it setting out for individuals to add. I served mine with some shaved parmesan cheese on top and some added ground pepper. This is good served with some good crusty bread and butter.
Beans after soaking
Veggies for the beans
Cooking the beans
For the Soup
Veggies chopped and diced
Veggies and tomatoes cooking
The pulled pork
Pork added to the pot
Bread
My Soup
Smokin Don
