I bought pasilla oaxaca peppers from World Spice Merchants. They are wood smoked and heavenly! World Spice said they were good in vegetarian dishes instead of bacon or ham hock. I split them to remove the seeds first so they won't impart much heat, but you still get a teeny tiny zing.
Oh yes Suzanne - both pasillas and anchos lend a lovely rich complex flavor. I do not bother de-seeding. I leave the stem on so most of the seeds stay inside and remove when beans are done. These can often be found inexpensively in clear plastic bags where the bulk Mexican spices are. Here in So Cal I get them at the 99 cent store or Smart & Final, and even the Safeway chain has them for a bit more.
tommy, thanks for the tip, I never thought about leaving them whole! Are the ones you refer to wood smoked as well? I'm addicted to wood smoked foods and that's the one thing I miss since I gave up meat.
this sounds sooo delicioius! guess what I am gonna do on Sunday!!
one thing I do with dried beans, is soak em over night and i will take one tbsp of olive oil and sautee garlic and crushed red peppers and some onions fill the pot with water and cook the beans until they are soft, they freeze really good, lima beans are really good this way
I do black beans in the crock pot, and my favorite way to season them is to add sauted onions and garlic and a LOT of ground cumin near the end of the cooking. I'm talking 3 tablespoons or more of the stuff.
Suzanne - I doubt they are wood smoked but they have such a natural "smoky" flavor with sort of a chocolate lilt that for the price I am happy. I know someone who uses a smoky tea for smoke flavoring (lapsang souchong)
My favorite way is to chop an onion and about 3 jalapenos, sautee for about 1 or 2 minutes and add them to the bean pot. Garlic, too, if you like. I LOVE jalapenos in beans and if you throw them in early in the process the whole pot of beans is fantastic!!
I like cooking a big batch of beans....then season them according to my taste sometimes its a bean and veggie soup, or taco seasoned....etc bean and bacon or ham. celery and carrot and thyme and garlic. I like them best just plain with salt and pepper.
If you don't want to add meat to a pot of beans, but still want a smoky flavor, use liquid smoke. It's all-natural and isn't made from chemicals. Alton Brown had an episode of Good Eats where he showed you how to make it yourself.
