SLOW COOKED BLACK BEANS

Get to know your slow cooker.  You can make a huge amount of these beans and freeze what you don't use.  It takes some time and of course you can cheat and use canned beans, but the price of dry beans makes them very budget friendly and I think the taste is fresher as they weren't canned with a bunch of salt.

Recipe:

1 1/2 lbs dry black beans
1 1/2 onions chopped
40 cloves garlic, rough cut
1 tablespoon cumin seeds
1 tablespoon fennel seeds
1 tablespoon coriander seeds
1 teaspoon green cardamom seeds
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon whole cloves
3 Serrano chilies thinly sliced rings
4 bay leaves
2 cups RVS

Sea Salt to taste after they're cooked.   (you're making a lot of beans so start with a tablespoon, but don't add the salt until the beans have softened)

Pour the black beans on a cookie sheet or in batches on a dinner plate.  Look for ill formed beans, small stones or other things that don't belong but sometimes get picked up during the harvest.  Rinse the beans and pour them in your slow cooker with three inches of water covering them.  Let the beans soak overnight.  You can prepare the rest of the spices before you go to bed.

Mix the cumin, fennel and coriander seeds together and partially crush them in a mortar and pestle or spice grinder.  It's OK to leave some whole  as it will add texture to the dish.  Put the cloves and bay leaves in a piece of cheese cloth and tie it with kitchen twine or cotton twine (this will make it easier to remove later).

In the morning when they're done soaking, pour out the water and replace with fresh water, again with three inches more water than beans.  Add all of the remaining ingredients except the salt. Turn the slow-cooker on high and let them go 8-10 hours.


Serve this over brown rice with some chopped fresh cilantro as a main dish or as a side dish.