Recipe - Biba Baked Beans

1 cup Dried kidney beans (see note
#1)
One half cup Dried cannelini beans
One half cup Dried great northern beans
Cold water
2 Sprigs fresh thyme (see note
#2)
4 tablespoon Olive oil
1 lg Onion; chopped
1 Carrot; chopped
1 Jalapeno pepper; seeded and
chopped (see note #3)
2 Cloves garlic; minced
1 tablespoon Cumin seeds; toasted (see
note #4)
One half cup Crushed canned tomatoes
4 Ripe plum tomatoes
One fourth cup Maple syrup
One fourth cup Light brown sugar
1 Bay leaf
1 Orange; grated rind of
One half tablespoon Crushed peppercorn
One fourth cup Chopped fresh cilantro
2 cup Cold water; or vegetable
stock
One fourth cup Cider vinegar
Salt; to taste
Adjust seasoning: salt and
pepper; and up to 2 more
tbs vinegar
Additional cilantro for
garnish

The following recipe is adapted from the New York Times magazine section
from a while back (from Biba Restaurant, Boston).

In this strictly vegetarian version (sanctioned by the NYT), it is one of
the few bean recipes that I make over and over.

Place dried beans in a bowl. Cover with cold water by 2 inches, add fresh
thyme and let soak overnight, at least 4 hours.

Heat a heavy 2 to 3quart casserole. Add olive oil and Sautee onion and
carrot for about 10 minutes, until onions are translucent and carrot soft.
Add jalapeno pepper, garlic, and cumin seeds, and cook a few minutes
longer.

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. (See note #5.) Drain beans, and add to the
casserole, together with canned tomatoes, plum tomatoes, maple syrup, brown
sugar, bay leaf, orange rind, peppercorns, chopped fresh cilantro, and cold
water, or vegetable stock. Cover, and bring to a slow simmer. Place
casserole in oven, and cook for 1 hour.

Add cider vinegar and salt, to taste. Cook 1 hour longer, until liquid
has been absorbed, but the beans are still moist. Adjust seasoning salt
and pepper, and up to 2 more T vinegar. Garnish with additional cilantro.
NOTES: (1) I generally use white kidney beans. Using all white beans gives

a pleasing uniform color to the dish. Just about any combination

of dried beans can be used. (2) Or, 1 heaping tablespoon of dried thyme.

Just be sure to rinse it off completely. (3) Or, to suit your tolerance.
I find that the peppers provide

more of an undercurrent of heat than an outright fire, and so, too

much is probably not a good idea in this dish. The hot pepper should

act as a foil to the other sweet and sour components, not as an

overpowering taste in itself. (4) To toast cumin seed, heat a small
saucepan, add the cumin and heat,

shaking the pan, until the seeds begin to dance (pop) and smell

toasty. (5) I've made this recipe also in a crock pot and slow cooker
with

the same results. It takes considerably more time to cook, so

adjust the times accordingly. Make sure the beans cook long enough

to become tender.

IRWIN.H.WALKENFELD@ATT.COM

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