The Sailing Chef: Beans or “Oh, Yum, Yum, Yum Beans”

Note: this is a new series giving the recipes and photo steps of The Captain’s cooking. For anyone thinking sailing food means cold packaged food or biscuits and water, think again. THIS Captain believes in eating, and eating well. And, boy can he cook!

However, we still are cooking on a sailboat and must make do with what we have on hand. Also you’ll see that the amounts can be vague, trust the overall feel of the dish and smell your way thru it.

Beans

Time: 2-8 hours (yes, these are serious beans!)

Ingredients: 5 large Garlic cloves chopped fine, 1 yellow onion chopped, I Red Pepper chopped, (Meat Optional: Salami Picante, Ground Beef or steak---amount based on your taste but don’t overpower the Beans), Olive Oil, 1-2 tsp Cumin seed, a couple of shakes of Ground Coriander, 1 Tbl Chile Powder (enough to make it reddish), 2 Thai peppers chopped, 6-8 cans of Beans: while sailing, Kidney beans are the easiest for us to find so he uses 6 cans of Kidney beans and one can of Pink, white OR black (whatever we have). However, in the States, he uses 3 Kidney, 2 Pinto, 2 Red, 1 Black. Salt to taste if needed, Tortillas or chips optional. Served with basmati rice.

Process:

In a large sauce pan, coat the bottom of pan with Olive Oil and add Cumin seeds until they darken.

Add Garlic and Onion.

Add Thai Peppers (make sure you add these peppers early in the process so they can mellow),

Add optional meat, Add Red Peppers, Stir until onions are translucent and spices seem mixed.

Add all Beans including sauce from cans. Note: add water if seems too thick at first or at any time during the cooking. Add salt to taste at very end.

Bring to boil and then simmer for 2 to 8 hours (the longer the better) stirring every 20 minutes.

Make rice and serve inside tortilla like burrito, with chips as bean dip or over rice as rice and beans. (Optional freshly chopped raw onions served inside burrito or on top of beans if desired)