Vegetarian pressure cooker red beans
This is a great use for one of those all-in-one type pots. I use mine for pressure cooking more than anything and nothing pressure cooks better than beans. It really takes all the guess work out of it. One of my guests for the 4th was vegetarian, so I didn't use any meat or bones. There were no leftovers.
This recipe has no meat. If you want to use something like a ham shank or hock, I recommend pressure cooking that first for 20 minutes or so and retaining the stock and using both during the last stage as it takes a bit longer to break down the collagen. Collagen adds protein and flavor to the dish, but this recipe works fine without it. If I'm making this as a side dish, I will make it up ahead of time and leave it in the pot on the hold warm setting which makes it very easy to bring everything together.
As far as the beans go, I use Camellia red kidney beans. These are the lighter ones which is what I prefer vs dark red kidney beans which are significantly different.
Ingredients:
1 lb red kidney beans washed and remove any rocks
1 medium white onion, chopped into large pieces
Chopped scallions
2 qt vegetable broth or 4 cans
Seasoning:
I don't measure anything, but figure on about 1 tsp of each or mix it up with the herbs and spices you like. I generally like to keep the seasoning fairly simple. It's better to have fewer of them than too many.
Smoked paprika
Ground coriander
Onion powder
About 1/4 tsp garlic powder
1 bay leaf
Fresh herbs: Parsley, sage, thyme tied together with twine (or use dried herbs if you like)
Seasoning added at the very end to taste
Salt
Cayenne pepper
Soak the beans overnight and drain
Mix together the first group of seasonings and set aside
Add about 1/4 of the beans to the pot and pressure cook in 2 cups of the vegetable broth for 25 mins. Remove and blend with a stick blender or stand blender until smooth. Add back to the pot.
Add the beans, onion, and first group of seasonings to the pot along with the rest of the vegetable broth. Pressure cook for 12 mins and remove the fresh herbs. You may need to add more hot broth or water at the end to get the consistency you want.
Add the remaining seasoning to taste and serve with chopped scallions and some fresh chopped parsley or cilantro.
= new reply since forum marked as read
