Tepary Bean Stew

As tradition built it

Tepary Bean Stew

Native Seeds/SEARCH-adjacent and general Southwest bean sourcing, moderate confidence. 90 minutes to 4 hours on the stove, or 6 to 8 hours slow cooker.

Ingredients

• 1 cup dried tepary beans
• roughly 8 cups water

Method

1. Soak the beans overnight, or a minimum of 8 hours.
2. Bring roughly 8 cups water to 1 cup dried beans to a low boil.
3. Simmer 90 minutes to 3 or 4 hours until tender, or cook 6 to 8 hours on low in a slow cooker.
4. Cook simply, into bean stews, letting the bean's own dense, nutty character carry the dish.

Notes

Teparies are noted as smaller, denser and slower cooking than common beans.

What a modern chef changes

A steady low simmer, two textures, the bean's own glaze

Method

1. Cook the soaked beans sous vide at a precise, sustained low simmer rather than on an unwatched hob, holding them at a steady temperature for the full three to four hours without any risk of a hard boil breaking their skins.
2. Toast a portion of dried beans whole in the spice grinder's own grinding chamber briefly before cooking, cracking rather than powdering them, then cook these alongside the whole beans for a two-texture stew.
3. Finish with a spoonful of the beans' own cooking liquor, reduced separately in a small pan to a light glaze and stirred back through, rather than a foreign fat or dairy enrichment.