Recipe - Rancho Beans

1 pound Pinto or Pink Beans
1 Ham Hock
1 Onion; chopped
2 Cloves Garlic; minced
3 teaspoon Pure Chile Powder
Salt
Black Pepper

Pick over beans for debris; rinse well and drain. Place in a 4 quart pot
and add water to cover. Bring to a boil, simmer 3 minutes. Remove from
heat, cover, and let soak for at least 4 hours.

Pour off water. Add 5 cups fresh water, or just enough to cover beans.
Bring to a simmer, then reduce heat to maintain a gentle bubbling. Add ham
bone, onion and garlic. Partially cover (a whisper of steam should escape.)
Cook 2 One half to 3 hours, or until beans are not sticking; give them a stir.
Keep a kettle with hot water on stove if cooking liquid drops below the
level of the beans, add no more than One half cup water.

When beans are tender, add chile powder, salt and pepper. Simmer 30 minutes
longer. Scoop out 2 cups beans with a little cooking liquid. Roughly puree
in blender on low speed. Stir puree back into beans and cook for a few
minutes, stirring, until beans have thickened.

Per serving: 200 calories, 12 g protein, 38 g carbohydrate, 1 g fat, 4 mg
sodium, 16 g fiber, no cholesterol.

Source: San Francisco Chronicle, 3 May 1995 Typed by Katherine Smith
KookNet: The Shadow Zone IV Stinson Beach, CA

From Gemini's MASSIVE MealMaster collection at www.synapse.com/~gemini