We had more comfort food this week since my tummy is still trying to get back to ‘normal’ after being sick last week. Some people have trouble with beans, but luckily, we do not. We find them very comforting, especially in a delicious soup that has simmered on the stove, filling the house with a delicious fragrance!
And now we live in a state, New Mexico, where one of the major agricultural products is beans – pinto beans! In the fall here, you can find pinto beans and Anasazi beans at the farmer’s markets. When I went to make this recipe, I found that I didn’t have enough pinto beans to make this, but I did have some Anasazi beans so I used some of those too. They cook very similarly and have a similar flavor profile, so I knew they would work together.
Pinto Bean Soup
Adapted from Cooking Light
3 cups dried pinto beans, (or Anasazi beans, or a mix)
2 tbsp oil
3 cups finely diced onion
6 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp dried oregano
8 cups water
2 bay leaves
2 tsp salt
Avocado, chopped
Lay out your beans on a rimmed baking sheet and look for small stones, random grains of wheat (yes, I have found them!), or shriveled beans and discard them. Rinse beans and place in a large pot. Cover with water to 2 inches above level of beans and bring to a boil. Cook 5 minutes and then remove from heat. Let stand one hour. Drain beans.
In the same (dry) pan, heat the oil over medium heat. Add onion and saute until it begins to soften, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and saute for another minute or until it becomes fragrant. Add paprika and cumin and stir until fragrant, being careful not burn the spices. Stir in oregano, beans, water and bay leaves. Bring to a boil. Then cover, reduce heat and simmer for 1-1/2 hours or until beans are tender.
Discard bay leaves. Stir in salt. Taste and add more if desired. Top with chopped avocado and serve with corn muffins.
This recipe is cross-posted over at Pennywise Platter at The Nourishing Gourmet.
Beyond Rice and Tofu 
Hi Renee, a fellow New Mexican here. Just wanted to say, this looks really good, I’ll have to try this when I make beans next week. I don’t usually add a lot of spices to my beans but this looks good. Thanks for sharing. I also wanted to tell you how I sort my beans without extra dishes (baking sheet) I take my beans and put them on the counter (about a cup at a time) and then slide a handful away from the pile, spread it out, slide off to the side anything to discard and then with the other hand, I’m holding the colander under the edge of the counter and then I can just slide the beans right into it and rinse them in it when I’m done sorting. Anyway, hopefully this is helpful for you :)
Stacy
Thanks Stacy! A great idea! Nice to ‘meet’ another New Mexican too, one with more experience with pinto beans! This soup isn’t as thick as most NM cook’s ‘beans’, at least not that I have experienced so far. And yes, they have more spices than most. But we thought it was delicious. Curious to hear what you think if you make it.
This looks so good and so simply satisfying! I love pinto beans…awesome recipe!
Exactly! Nice to ‘meet’ you!
Perfect – something compelled me to buy a bag of pintos at the grocery store this week, maybe i have a sixth sense about what you will be posting!? :)
Perfect! Love to know if you make it. We loved it. It makes a lot though. I put half in the freezer for later. So we’ll see how well it freezes…
This looks really good. Thanks for the recipe!
Sounds good for the heart and soul. Love the idea of combining pinto and anasazi!
I love pinto beans! :) My name is Cindy and I blog over at Vegetarianmamma.com I wanted to invite you to link up your recipe at our Gluten Free Fridays Recipe Link up party! It happens every Friday and we’d love to have you join us with some of your awesome recipes! You can find this week’s link up here: http://vegetarianmamma.com/gluten-free-fridays-recipe-party-2/
Also be sure to link up your blog on our Gluten Free Bloggers directory. You can reach the directory by clicking the “glutenfree bloggers” tab on our blog! Thanks, Cindy :)