Easy one pot black beans

Beans store well in the refrigerator for 5-7 days, or in the freezer for one month (oftentimes longer).

Ingredients

  • 1 lb dry black beans
  • 3/4 cup onion, peeled but not chopped
  • 5 cloves garlic, smashed
  • 1 strip kombu
  • water
  • vegetable broth
  • salt+pepper to taste
  • 1 tsp ground cumin (optional)
  • 1-2 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce (optional)

Directions

  1. Add beans, onion, garlic, and kombu to a pot and cover with 3 inches water/vegetable broth. We went with a ratio of about 2/3 water and 1/3 vegetable broth for a little flavor.
  2. Cover and bring to a boil over high heat. Then reduce to a simmer and cook uncovered for 1 hour - 1 hour 45 minutes or until the beans are tender. If during that time the beans are no longer covered in enough liquid to cook, add more water or vegetable broth to just cover.
  3. Once tender, remove the onion and kombu and scoop out any excess liquid that’s making the beans soupy (some liquid is good, just scoop out any excess sitting at the top).
  4. Season beans to taste at this time. We added salt, cumin powder, and chipotle peppers in adobo sauce. Then increase heat to medium/medium-high (the beans should be bubbling) and cook - stirring occasionally (uncovered) - for 10-15 more minutes. The liquid should evaporate a bit more.

Notes

Adding a dry chili pepper and diced sundried tomatoes while simmering the dry beans is a good alternative to adding chipotle in adobo. When you take out the kombu, remove the dry chili, dice it up, and add it back into the pot.