I was asked to document my process for making Dan's Famous Bean Soup. So I took a few photos (for this particular batch) so that everyone can see what it takes.
Of course, you can start with any beans, but the best beans we have are the Rancho Gordo beans. In this case, I am using the Vaquero Beans, which look like Holstein Cows.
(In case you didn't know, for every cow there is an equal and opposite bean. See here.)
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Rancho Gordo Vaquero Beans |
As with most of my bean soups, I like to use some fresh herbs. In this case, I have some thyme growing on the back porch:
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Fresh Thyme |
And I like the way fresh bay leaves liven up the soup:
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Bay Laurel Tree |
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Thyme, cut |
Fresh Herbs, thyme and bay leaves. Feel free to put in whatever you have. Oregano, parsley, sage. But keep in mind that the high pressure will smooth out all these flavors. If you want to preserve them, you may want to add some right before you serve.
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Thyme and Bay Leaves, washed and ready to go |
Now, of course you will need the vegetables. Again, use what you have on hand. Hard to make soup without onions and garlic, though.
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Yellow Onions |
I use soup as an opportunity to use vegetables that might be a little past their prime. Here is an example of some old celery, that will be delicious in the soup:
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Celery |
I did pick up some fresh peppers, though, This red pepper was HUGH! Almost a pound. beautiful, though.
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Red Bell Pepper |
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Red Bell Pepper |
I always feel bell peppers are interchangeable. Red, green, orange, what have you. Pick them for their size and their color if you want.
The green one is much smaller than the red one.
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Green Bell Pepper |
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Green Bell Pepper |
I like jalapeƱos in my soup! You may not. These are not really too hot. |
JalapeƱo |
Of course, you need carrots. What is a soup without carrots?
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Carrots |
And garlic is a necessity as well. I like lots of garlic. I think it is very hard to put in too much garlic.
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Garlic |
And here is the whole ensemble:
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Looks delicious, doesn't it? |
This is olive oil in the pressure cooker. Put it in, and turn the heat on as low as it can go. Let it heat up the whole pot.
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Olive oil in pressure cooker |
And of course, you need salt. This is salt from Argentina, the salt beds in the northern part of the country. You can see where it came from here. |
Salt from Salta, Argentina |
In case you didn't know, the carrots must be peeled. We don't name inanimate objects in this house, but if we did, the device we use to perform this function would be called Emma Peel. |
Peeled Carrots |
Since this is going into a pressure cooker, you don't need to be to precise in the chopping. If I were just going to cook the soup on top if the stove, I would probably chop them finer. |
Chopped Carrots |
Into the bucket. |
Vegetable Bucket with carrots |
Chopped celery.
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Chopped celery |
Put it all in the bowl. |
Vegetal Bucket with Carrots and Celery |
These are good looking beans. That is one pound |
Vaquero Beans |
You need to wash them and look for field debris. I have never seen field debris in any Ranch Gordo beans |
Washing Beans |
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Washed Beans |
Now you chop the other vegetables while the beans drain.
First, the red bell pepper, As I said earlier, this is a HUGE pepper. |
Heading and footing red bell pepper |
Unroll the pepper so you can turn it into matchsticks |
Unrolling the pepper |
Then you line them up and getting ready to chop |
Lining up the matchsticks |
Chopped red bell pepper |
Chopped Red Bell Pepper |
Add the peppers to the vegetable bucket |
Vegetal Bucket with Carrots, Celery, Red Bell Pepper |
Do the same with the Green Bell Peppers |
Chopped Green Peppers |
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Vegetal Bucket with Carrots, Celery, Red Bell Peppers, Green Bell Peppers |
Now chop the JalapeƱo |
Prepping the JalapeƱo |
I like to chop the JalapeƱo fine, and leave the seeds in to give it a little extra heat |
Chopped JalapeƱo |
Vegetal Bucket getting full
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Vegetal Bucket with Carrots, Celery, Red Bell Pepper, Green Bell Pepper, JalapeƱo
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Now the onions. I did two, a big one and a medium one. But like garlic, it is hard to have too much onion |
Onions, peeled |
I use an onion technique I learned from a Knife Skills book. You cut the onion in half, then slice it radially. Finally, you chop it into slices
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Onion, ready to chop |
Then you chop it. |
Chopped Onion |
Add it to the bucket. |
Vegetal Bucket with Carrots, Celery, Red Bell Pepper, Green Bell Pepper, JalapeƱo, and one Onion |
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Vegetal Bucket with Carrots, Celery, Red Bell Pepper, Green Bell Pepper, JalapeƱo, and Two Onions
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Of course, you have to dispose of the scraps. |
Peels, seeds, etc |
It takes about 10 minutes to get this pressure cooker, with this much liquid up to temp |
Pressurizing |
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Pressurizing |
This is the perfect pressure. |
At Pressure |
I let it get a little out of hand... |
Over Pressure (too hot!) |
But it turned out perfect.
15 minutes under pressure, natural release. |
Finished soup |
I love cooking bean soup