Pinto Beans
Frugal comfort food that doesn’t just taste good, but keeps well too.
When choosing a dish to cook, Mums will always need to ask themselves three things:
1) “Is this good?”,
2) “Is this nutritious?”, and
3) “Is this practical?”
After all, you can’t have one without the other!
A great big serving of Mac and Cheese is easy to prepare and a sure-hit with the kids, but it’s hardly healthy. Conversely, a simple dish made with cheap vegetables will make for a healthy, practical meal, but may not be too popular at the dinner table? Striking a balance between the three is essential to serving up a great meal.
Not to worry though, as today’s recipe for pinto beans and red wine soup ticks all three boxes. Making use of nothing but the best quality ingredients, it’s sure to pack a punch in terms of flavor and nutrients! And it’s insanely easy to make too, and which Mum does not love easy.
Pinto beans don’t carry too much flavor on their own, but this is what makes them a perfect complement to the red wine soup. After all, when trying to pair wine with anything, M&S wine guru Chris Murphy recommends trying to match textures and flavors before anything else. “Anything with a lighter texture than these pintos would be overpowered by the richness of a red wine soup, and anything too flavorful would clash with the delicate hints of garlic in the soup.”
Worried about cooking with wine for children; the alcohol will evaporate, with the flavor remaining in a concentrated form. Thus, leaving the food safe for a child to consume. Do not fret!
Is this nutritious?
The main ingredients of this meal are pinto beans, red wine, and garlic — three things that have been touted for their health benefits in the past. Pinto beans are virtually fat-free and are a great source of protein for vegans and vegetarians. Red wine is known for its anti-aging properties and for being full of antioxidants, and garlic is said to be good for your blood and maybe even help lessen the amount of fat formed in our bodies.
Garlic; used throughout history as a food medicine
Is this practical?
The soup mellows out as it stays in the fridge, and it freezes extremely well, so you can make a big batch and keep it in your fridge. The ingredients are also quite cheap, as you can use just about any leftover red wine from your pantry.
What You Need for the Beans
- 2 cups of dried, organic pinto beans
- Extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 diced celery stalk
- 1 diced large carrot
- 1 diced medium onion
- 6 crushed garlic cloves, and 6 whole garlic cloves
- 10 fresh sage leaves
- ½ tsp of salt
What You Need for the Soup
- Extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 diced onion
- 10 torn fresh sage leaves
- A sprig of rosemary
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- 20 thinly sliced garlic cloves
- 1 ½ cups of dry red wine
- 1 chopped head of curly endive
- 2 tablespoons of tomato paste
Grapes; touted as a healthy heart food
What To Do
- Soak the beans for 2 hours in boiling water, then drain, rinse, and drain again
- Add some extra-virgin olive oil to the bottom of a 6-quart pot and heat over medium high, and sauté the celery, carrot, 1 onion, sage, and the garlic. Once the ingredients have browned, add in the beans and add enough water to cover the beans by 2 inches. Cook until tender, and then spoon in a half teaspoon of salt
- While the beans are cooking, prepare your soup by sautéing 1 onion in olive oil, sprinkling in some salt to taste. Once the onion has browned, add in the sage leaves, the rosemary, the garlic, and half of the red wine. Allow the mixture to simmer until the wine has been reduced almost completely
- Scrape everything into the pot of tender beans, adding the endive and tomato paste Simmer everything for 20-30 minutes, and then season with salt and pepper
Thanks for stopping by Willy B Mum, we hope you enjoy this recipe, and remember Peace, Love and Plants make the World Go Around!
