Black beans - Music please, maestro

Yes, it's corny sophomoric humor, and I may not be a junior any more; but I refuse to be a senior (except in the actuarial tables).

I avoid cooking dried beans most of the time, but caved in to the idea while shopping at my favorite Hispanic market the other day. Heck, these dark-skinned little devils are cheap, nutritious and tasty. Somewhere in the Google-verse I found a recipe that included a bunch of stuff to add after the cooking is done.

I didn't write down the measurements (that would be so Food Network). I just added a lot of the stuff I knew I liked and less of anything questionable. The slightly citrus-y cast the beans took on from the orange flavor and vinegar was really nice. And with my beloved fluffy white rice as a vehicle on which to serve them, these beans made my meal.

Add some or all: garlic (while the beans are cooking is a good idea), garlic powder, cumin, black pepper, salt, dried oregano, SunnyD (or orange juice if your nose is in the air), lime juice, EVOO, rice wine vinegar.

Turkey milanesa with hominy/bean/grits cakes

Pictured above: 2 pieces turkey milanesa and one bean cake (top of plate).

We bought a 20 lb. turkey at a 60% discount the day after Easter. I broke it down into legs, thighs, breasts (one boneless, one bone-on), wings and back (for stock). Last night I made some of the boneless breast into milanesa. The remainder of that breast will become turkey burgers tonight.

Cheese-Whiz, that’s a lot of turkey. But the t-bird is an excellent source of low-fat protein. And, as it happens, Peter and I love turkey.

I have studied the art of milanesa (or the Italian version, milanese) for a long time. The last two times I’ve made it (pork once, then now the turkey) I really felt like I understood it.

I did one thing different: I sliced the breast across instead of lengthwise – into two 5-6 oz. cutlets ½” thick (before pounding). This is the equivalent of cutting meat across the grain.

Keys to the process:
1) brining – 2 cups water, 2 tbsp kosher salt (1 for regular salt), 1 tsp roughly smashed black peppercorns – 2-3 hours in the fridge is fine.
2) Rinsing very, very well.
3) No added salt after brining – seasoning with some more pepper and some paprika is good.
4) Pounding thin is essential – no more than 1/4”; closer to 1/8” is even better.
5) Allow the coatings to set up in the refrigerator.
6) Getting the oil hot enough – when it’s ready a flick of water into it will pop instantly – not sizzle, pop.
7) Cooking time – absolutely no more than 90 seconds per side.
8) Drain on paper towel and dab the top to remove any excess oil.

Turkey milanesa
2 5-6 oz. turkey cutlets, cut across the grain ½” thick
brining liquid
sweet or smoked paprika to taste
black pepper
all-purpose flour for dredging
1 egg, lightly beaten with 2 tbsp cream, milk or water
bread crumbs, homemade or panko, but never Italian-flavored ones from a box
2/3 cup grated parmesan or romano cheese (optional)
vegetable oil, enough to coat a large saute pan to 1/8”

Pound the cutlets to 1/8” – ¼” thickness between plastic wrap or in a freezer bag. Season with paprika and/or pepper. Dredge in flour and shake off excess. Dip into egg and coat thoroughly, allowing excess to drain off. Coat with bread crumbs (with or without the cheese in it), pressing the crumbs in.

Place the cutlets on a baking rack over a plate and refrigerate until 30 minutes before cooking.

I cannot emphasize the importance of getting the oil hot enough. You can test it one of two ways: flick a drop of water into it – it should pop instantly; or drop a tiny bit of breadcrumbs into the oil – it should sizzle aggressively in an instant and be brown in a matter of a few seconds.

Here’s the part that’s hard to trust – the cooking time. Cook for 90 seconds on one side, turn and cook as little as one more minute. Last night, because the cutlets were about ¼” thick, I intended to cook them 2 minutes per side. After turning them I let them go only 30 seconds on side 2.

Drain on paper towels, dabbing the tops with another towel to remove any residual oil. Serve at once.

It was time to dispose of some leftovers: a bit of grits from last night, a bit of hominy from the recent posole, and an orphan can of Navy beans in the pantry. I had to consult a couple of recipes from our loose-leaf collection, mostly to see what I should use as a binder.

Grits, hominy and Navy bean cakes
1/3 cup leftover grits or polenta
½ - 14 oz. can hominy, drained and rinsed
1 14 oz. can Navy beans, drained and rinsed
2 scallions, green and white parts chopped fine
1 tsp hot sauce
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 tbsp flour
1 serrano chile, seeded and minced
pinch finely chopped fresh rosemary
½ cup grated pepper jack cheese
salt and pepper to taste
2 tbsp olive oil

Put the hominy and beans in a food processor and pulse to a rough chop. Mix in grits, scallions, hot sauce, egg, flour, serrano chile, rosemary, cheese, salt and pepper. Form a little of it into a 1” ball, flatten it and microwave it for 15 seconds. Taste for seasoning and adjust as necessary.

Heat olive oil in a non-stick saute pan over medium-high heat. Form the mixture into patties and fry 3-4 minutes per side until hot throughout.

A Soup

I blogged the other day about the lupin beans I found in a middle-eastern market. In planning our meals for the week (actually we only do it a day or two ahead) we decided we wanted to use some of the beans in a dinner soup.

Sometimes our soups are based on cleaning out leftovers from the fridge. In this case, not. I had to go do my hausfrau thing this morning at Sunflower Market to acquire the stuff we needed to make this a one-dish meal.

A Soup
2 medium red potatoes, ½” dice (don’t peel them)
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp butter

3 bratwurst, casing removed, chopped
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium tomato, chopped
1 bunch kale, stems removed and roughly chopped

4 cups chicken broth

1 - 2 cups potato cooking water
1 cup beans (any kind…from a can)
pinch each of dried oregano, thyme and tarragon
salt and pepper to taste
lemon juice

grated carrot (optional)
more olive oil (optional)
croutons (optional)

In a medium pot, cover the potatoes with cold water. Put on the stove over medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Adjust the heat to an energetic simmer and cook until the potatoes and al dente, about 8 minutes.

Use a spider and remove the potatoes to a colander, rinse with cold water, drain, and set aside. Reserve the potato water.

Add 1 tbsp olive oil and 1 tbsp butter to a soup pot. When the butter has melted and the foam has subsided, add the onion, garlic, tomato and sausage. Cook until sausage is done throughout, about 10 minutes.

Add broth to the pot along with the kale. Ladle in some of the potato water if it seems needed. The extra water can also mitigate any excessive saltiness which might come from the sausage. Bring to a simmer. Bring to a simmer. Taste and adjust seasonings. Serve with a splash of lemon juice, a drizzle of olive oil, grated carrot, and croutons if you wish.

Lupini beans

I went to a middle-Eastern market last week, mostly because I wanted to get some pomegranate molasses. I wandered through the very few aisles of the store and found a package of what were labeled "lupin" beans. I asked the proprietor about them. He said, "You will not like. Very sour."

Well, you know me, that became a challenge I had to assume. It turns out that, like everything else, there are numerous recipes online for what are apparently more commonly called "lupini." I picked one and followed it fairly closely. Who wants to futz around with something that takes nearly a week to prepare? Yours truly chose to.

There's some alkali sort of thing in the beans and it takes a great deal of simmering and soaking to get it out. Was it worth it? From the standpoint of a curiosity, yes; but from the standpoint of repeating it, no. The results are chewy, a fact that I find satisfying; they supposedly have nutritional value rivaling that of soy beans. The skins are edible and dense, but I don't mind.

I can't tell you you must try this. I'm just reporting here.

Lupini beans

1 pound lupini beans

kosher salt as needed

freshly chopped rosemary

olive oil

black pepper

lemon juice

Ok, buckle down. Soak the beans in plain water overnight (refrigeration not necessary).

Next day: drain and rinse the beans in a large colander. Place in a large pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 1 hour. Drain in the colander and rinse with cold water until cooled. Put them back into the pot and cover with water to which you've added 1 tbsp salt for each 2 cups. I used 5 cups water, therfore 2 1/2 tbsp salt. Refrigerate overnight. Repeat the simmering and salting process each day for 5 days, at which point they should taste good nad be tender enough to eat.

I added an extra simmer at the end because I wanted to further tenderize the beans. They are pretty chewy but quite satisfying.

They can be eaten room temperature or warmed and dressed with olive oil, chopped rosemary (or tarragon), lemon juice and pepper. You won't need salt. They aren't salty after all the brining, but they just don't seem to need any more of it.

Ham and bean soup

I often make soup. The particular ingredients (which I know I've mentioned many times before) just happen to be what is in the fridge.

I on a new diet kick. For the past few years Peter and I have more often than not eaten sandwiches (grilled or on toast) for lunch. Having quit smoking recently my weight is inexorably increasing - about a pound a week. This in spite of no change in my eating habits and gym visits (4 times a week).

It occured to me the other day when Peter went off for the weekend to New Orleans that I should try skipping the sandwiches and getting "soup creative."

The one and only ingredient you absolutely must have for soup is liquid. I prefer low fat/low sodium chicken stock - often on sale at Safeway. Then just rummage around and see what you have. You could do something as simple as open a can of diced tomatoes, saute some onion and garlic, puree that with the tomatoes, add some broth and some seasonings and, voila, it's soup!

On Saturday I took the easy way out and bought one of Safeway's "Signature" soups, Italian wedding soup. I really like it and I was feeling lazy.

Sunday I got creative. I opened a package of ramen noodles and thawed out 4 oz. shrimp, removing their shells. Now, I wanted flavor but less sodium than one gets using the ramen flavor packet. So...I started with 1 cup chicken broth and one cup water, brought it to a boil, added the noodles and, one minute later, the shrimp. Ramen noodles take 3 minutes and the end of which you add the flavoring. I used only half. That's all there was to it.

All right, I'm going on a bit about this. Today's soup is something I dreamed up in a matter minutes early today. Everything that went into this was stuff that was on hand. If you have a trip planned to the store you can, or course, pick up whatever you might want to add to the soup. But I hate to go to the store for just one or two items.

Anyhoo, kohlrabi is unusal. But we had 3 "heads" of it. Also had leftover the jalapeno from a few days ago.

I'd love to take on the challenge of making a soup, Iron Chef style, from a list of ingredients provided by you the readers. (What readers? Nobody comes here.) Bring it on.

Ham and bean soup

1 tbsp olive oil

1/2 medium onion, chopped

1/2 cup chopped celery (with leaves if possible)

1 kohlrabi, peeled and diced

1/2 jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped

1 large clove garlic, minced

1 lb. smoked pork chops

1 14.5 oz. can beans (absolutely any kind)

4 cups chicken broth

salt and pepper to taste

1 tsp chili powder

In a large pot heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add onion, celery, kohlrabi, jalapeno and garlic. Saute, stirring occasionally for 5 minutes. Don't allow the vegetation to take on color.

If your pork chops have bones, remove them and add them to the pot for flavor. Cut the pork up into 1/2" cubes. Add the pork and the beans to the pot. Stir and then add broth. Bring to a simmer and then season with salt and pepper and chili powder to taste. Let the soup simmer very slowly for maybe 10 minutes. That's all there is to it.

Pork milanesa with rice and beans

NPR did a daily feature this week in which celebrity chefs gave recipes for feeding 4 on less than $10. They also offered the opportunity for us out here in listening land to send them similar recipes. So I did.





I think that beef is the most common meat used for milanesa, but I make it with pork and chicken as well. It's extremely simple to do, and very satisfying.



Milanesa with rice and beans

4 Thin cut boneless pork chops
1 egg
½ cup all-purpose flour
1 cup unflavored bread crumbs
salt and pepper
1 1/2 cups brown rice
3 cups water
1 15 oz. can black beans
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
hot sauce, to taste
½ head iceberg lettuce, shredded

Brine the chops if you have time. Season with salt (only if you didn't brine them), pepper and paprika. Pound them very thin, dredge in flour, dip in egg, coat with breadcrumbs.

In a large skillet, heat 1/8" vegetable oil until nearly smoking. Fry the meat exactly 90 seconds per side, no more, no less! If you have to do this in batches, kept the cooked pieces warm on a plate on paper towels.

Cook the rice according to package directions. I usually like to use broth for this, but water is fine. Drain and rinse the beans and combine them with the cooked rice along with the jalapeno, cilantro, salt and pepper to taste, and hot sauce to taste.

Serve the milanesa on a bed of lettuce with the rice and beans on the side.