[Sca-cooks] Pinto bean recipe

[Christiane]

I recall someone was looking for bean recipes of a hot dish variety, and I made this last night out of desperation (no food in  house except dried beans and odds and ends in cupboard) and it turned out pretty well. It's just a variation of pinto beans with bacon; I suppose you could substitute olive oil and turkey bacon for a healthier alternative, but pork bacon is what I had in the house. :-)

1 pound of soaked pinto beans (I soaked mine overnight)
1 package of bacon
1 onion, diced
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 eight-ounce can of chopped tomatoes with green chiles
2 or 3 teaspoons of cumin
1 teaspoon of paprika
1 package frozen corn
2 quarts of water
salt and pepper to taste

In a small stockpot, saute the chopped up, raw bacon until it's crispy. Drain most of the fat, and then sautee the onion and garlic in the fat. Once that is translucent, add the water, beans, corn, cumin, paprika, salt, and pepper. Simmer gently for an hour. When the beans start to get tender, add the can of tomatoes and chiles. Simmer for half an hour more, until the liquid is reduced slightly. 

If you just add greens, salt, and pepper, instead of the tomatoes, chiles, corn, and other spices, you've got another variation, more American than faux Tex-Mex. :-)

Gianotta