Frijoles Peruano

This little recipe was printed on the back of a bag of El Mexicano brand Peruano beans I bought recently. They were small and kind of cream-colored – kind of like a pinto but flatter. I thought I’d give this a shot – it’s different than what I ordinarily do with beans, but I was in the mood for a nice light-flavored soup, and this delivered quite well on that. If I made it again, I’d add more hot stuff to make Michael happy.

This originally had ham in it, but of course, I’ve used a chipotle to stand in for the smoky flavor. I couldn’t find the banana squash, which is ordinarily omnipresent in supermarkets out here – we seem to be between crops – I used some carrots instead. Banana squash would be better.

½ lb. peruano beans
6 c. water
1 chipotle chili, minced
½ lb. cubed boiling potatoes
1 bayleaf
½ lb. banana squash
1 t. ground cumin
1 t. oregano
1 ½ t. salt
1 medium onion, roughly chopped
1 medium bell pepper, roughly chopped
2 cloves garlic
2 T. oil

Pressure-cook the beans in the water for about 10 minutes, then remove from the heat and bring down pressure under running water. Add the remaining ingredients, close the cooker, and cook under pressure for another 5 minutes. Bring down pressure under running water. If vegetables are not tender, simmer until done.

The original called for the beans to be cooked (regular pot, here) for 30 minutes, then add the remaining ingredients and cook for another 30 minutes.