Tender, slow-cooked beans in a red broth tempered with coconut milk toward the end. The broth hums with a strong cinnamon, chipotle, and tomato foundation punctuated with cayenne pepper and Thai chiles.
Ingredients
1 pound dried Santa Maria Pinquito beans, soaked overnight
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 cup yellow onions, finely diced
6 cloves garlic, minced
14- ounce can of crushed tomatoes
1/4 cup tomato paste
2 tablespoons adobo sauce from a can of chipotle chiles
1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 bouillon cube or 1 tablespoon homemade bouillon powder
4 dried Thai chiles
1 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
3/4 cup full-fat coconut milk
Directions
Drain the beans and set aside.
Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat.
Add the onions and cook until soft, 5 minutes or so. Stir in the garlic and crushed tomatoes, and cook for another 3-4 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste, adobo sauce and cinnamon, and cook for another minute or two. Stir in the bouillon, the beans, 6 cups of water, and the Thai chiles.
Bring to a simmer and cook, stirring regularly, until the beans are wonderfully tender and the broth has reduced and thickened. You want a gentle simmer here because it usually takes between an hour or two for the beans to get that creamy tenderness you’re after. Stir in the salt and most of the coconut milk, a half cup or so.
Remove from the heat, wait 10 minutes or so, and serve drizzled with a bit more coconut milk.
