1-2 cups any dried beans soaked overnight or for a few hours (unsoaked will just need to cook longer)
1 medium to large onion
2-5 cloves garlic (depends on how much you like garlic)
3 tbsp olive oil
1-2 tsp salt or to taste
All Below are Optional:
2-3 bay leaves (give a good aromatic flavor to beans)
1-2 tsp dried herbs (ie) thyme, basil, oregano, marjoram, etc (one or more of these)
1 inch grated ginger root or 1 tsp dried ginger (use either ginger or the two ingredients above)
4 inch strip Kombu seaweed (adds minerals, helps with digestion of beans, adds flavor)
2-3 tbsp soy sauce or tamari or liquid amino acids (if you use this, you don’t need to use as much salt…this gives the soup a richer, meatier flavor)
Rinse soaked beans. Cover beans with water to 2-3 inches above level of beans. Add bay leaves and Kombu. Pressure cook beans for 30-40 minutes (this will result in very soft beans), or in a regular pot cook beans for 1-2 hours depending on type of bean and the softness you prefer. Bring beans to a boil then turn heat to a simmer and cover pot. While beans are cooking, fry chopped onion in oil until soft and/or slightly browned on medium heat in olive oil. When onions are almost done, add garlic and fry for a couple of minutes. When beans have reached desired softness, add onion/garlic mix to pot and any of the herbs and/or ginger. Add salt as well and/or soy sauce/tamari. It is important not to add salt to the beans before they are cooked because it toughens the skins. Cook for another 20 minutes or so until the flavors all blend. Taste and adjust seasonings during this 20 minute period.
You can play around with this basic recipe and add any vegetables during the 20 minute cooking time (carrots, collard/turnip/mustard greens, peppers, tomatoes, leeks, etc). You don’t have to stir fry the onions and garlic, you can just add them right in. If you do that, pour the 2 tbsp olive oil right into the pot to add more flavor. You can also substitute some or all of the water used to cook the beans with vegetable or chicken broth. The health food stores carry organic ones in cans or in boxes. It’s difficult if almost impossible to find good ones in the supermarket that don’t contain MSG and other additives. Serve the stew in a bowl or over brown rice or any other grain like quinoa or millet. This can last several days or you can freeze some if you get tired of eating it.
