Seems like everybody and their dog that I’ve chatted with this week (in the course of everyday business) is one more snow day short of shooting the freezer (for you Jimmy Buffet fans) and otherwise going bat-sh*t crazy as winter seemingly drags on and on.
The news media is hyperventilating over the nation’s snow cover (third snowiest early March ever, really?) They’re surfing drift boats down snowy roads in Craig and friends in Bozeman threatened to commit hari-kari through most of February.
Friend Ed says these sorts of winters ‘grow hair through your long johns’, which I assume is some prehistoric reference to the old west practice of putting your long underwear on in late October and not removing it (for any reason) until April or May. He claims to have spent a northern Idaho winter in his youth (read just after the earth’s crust hardened) doing so, though his cave paintings have faded enough we can’t actually document it with certainty.
Ed also has recently pontificated that a good soup is a worth a million bucks when winter’s getting under your skin; this Pinto Bean Soup with Bacon and Chipotles is one of his all time favorites.
Frankly the recipe is vintage Ed: simple everyday ingredients (OK, maybe not the fresh marjoram), treated with care (roasting the romas) and coupled with things that make people smile – like bacon and beer. ‘Nuf said.
The take home tips on this one: use really good, hand-sliced, thick-cut bacon and aim for a thicker rather than thinner consistency (mash those beans with a potato masher near the end).
And Ed, it’s way past time to wash the long johns my friend.
1 lb. good pinto beans, picked and rinsed
Water to cover beans by two inches
1 large onion, chopped medium
4 good-sized cloves fresh garlic, chopped fine
6 strips artisanal bacon, diced medium
6 roma tomatoes, halved and roasted for 30-40 minutes in a 350 oven (even better grilled)
1 cup beer (for some reason we think Moose Drool plays nicely here)
2-4 tbsp. pureed chipotle peppers in adobo
Water as needed
2 tbsp. fresh marjoram, chopped
Salt (a good one) to tasteGarnishes: grated cheese, finely chopped onion, tortilla chips, chopped cilantro, seeded and diced roma tomatoes, sour cream or crema – use your imagination here
Boil a naked bean. Add the beans to your bean pot, add water to cover by two inches, bring to a boil then dial back and simmer covered for an hour or so. We adhere to the ‘no salt in the first hour of cooking or it makes beans tough theory’- this is just beans and water time.
Meanwhile. After thirty minutes or so prep and roast the roma tomatoes; chop roughly when finished. Dice 5 strips of the bacon, fry over medium high heat to the just-getting-crisp stage, remove and drain; just cook the remaining bacon slice intact and eat it. Sauté the onion for 4-5 minutes until beginning to soften, add the garlic and stir for another minute or so.
Transform to a soup. To the bean pot add the bacon, onion and garlic mixture, the roasted romas, the beer and the pureed chipotle peppers. Bring to a gentle boil, reduce back to a simmer and cook covered until the beans are softened to your preference (At least another hour pending your preference and how fresh your beans are…)
Stir and check the bean tenderness every thirty minutes or so, add more water as needed to get to the consistency of soup you’re after; we like this one on the thicker side.
Finish it up. When the beans have reached the desired softness, mash about a third of the pot with a potato masher (or puree them) and add the marjoram (tip from the Coyote Cafe in Santa Fe).
Serve. Serve hot with the toppings of your choice and this one really needs fresh, steaming corn tortillas and a very cold beer along side.
Enjoy.
