Welcome to the Vegan Theory Club Weekly Megathread!
Question of the week:
What is your favorite bean?
Feel free to talk about anything, whether it’s vegan-related or not. This is a chill space for connecting, sharing ideas, and supporting each other.
Looking forward to hearing what everyone’s up to!
Black beans. By a huge margin.
I never liked most bean offerings growing up... mostly lima, and anyways whisky overcooked. But I've gotten really into black beans in the last 10 years.
The best part is that they're stupidly easy to make with a pressure cooker.
1 cup of dried black beans, 4+ cups of your flavorful liquid choice, though be very careful to keep salt levels low! I generally sautee a shallot and an unreasonable amount of garlic before adding the beans. Then add some herbs (lazy style Italian blend) and the liquid.
45 minutes of high pressure (I think it's 12psi on an Instant Pot), natural pressure release. Strain/skin the liquid to remove any herbs or the like you don't want in the final product. Finally strain the liquid into a saucepan to reduce by at least half or until you get to a consistency you like.
I always have a large container of it in my fridge and it works for a lot of applications.
I do the same thing with the pressure cooker and use the same essential procedure for all beans. I cook them to that point then "re-cook" them into something else with even more flavor. Good choice