And Lenny’s pressure cook memory:

Here a note from Georgenna Jones, Knickerbacker Gardener, CDCG, who took the class on Saturday:

It is so exciting to see how a recipe that is part of my family is now part of my community. Last night, I got to eat the Black Bean Soup – Caldo de Feijão Preto that I shared in the class, prepared by my friend Amy Halloran (she writes on her blog). Thank you Amy and Happy Birthday!

Caldo de Feijão Preto(Black Beans soup)

1 / 3 cup olive oil
½ cup of bacon (optional)
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic
1 TBSP of cumin
1 tsp coriander
1 bay leaf
3 cups cooked black beans
3 cups of water
Salt and Black pepper to taste
cheiro verde (a bunch of parsley, green onions and cilantro, chopped)In a saucepan, heat oil and fry the bacon if using. Add onion, garlic and brown them. Add cumin, coriander, bay leaf and stir well.  Using a blender, blend together the beans with water and add to stew. Mix and bring to a boil.  Finally, season with salt, black pepper and serve with cheiro verde.

Feijão Refogado  (refried beans , everyday beans)

2 pounds of pinto beans (black, pinto, pink, etc)
3 liters of water
2-3 bay leaves (optional)
1 large onion, chopped
4 large garlic cloves, crushed
Oil
Salt to tasteWash the beans, removing any stones or broken beans and drain. In a pressure cooker heat the water and place the washed beans and the bay leaves. and Close the pan and cook the beans for 20 minutes. (Follow instructions about attaching the lid, reducing steam pressure, and opening the pot when cooking is completed). As the pressure is removed, saute the chopped onion and garlic in oil, almost golden. Pour cooked beans and cook smashing a bit to thicken the sauce. If necessary, add more boiling water.If you want the refried beans, do not add water right way, add beans to fat and keep smashing them and stirring. You can use a wooden spoon or other mashing utensil, a little bit at a time while they fry in the hot pan. Add a couple of tablespoons of water water in the end if desired.

Tutu de Feijão à Mineira, my dad’s way
“Tutu is a dish of refried beans, which is again refried with pieces of fried bacon, onion and garlic, and mixed with roasted cassava flour (farinha de mandioca).  The beans can blended before refrying to get to the consistency of cornmeal mush.” My dad talks about his memory of corn flour. In Minas Gerais, they use toasted corn flour in many dishes and in my house growing up, we ate both ways.
Brazilians use the flours as a thickener for stews.  I  Substituted in the class with panko.
In the Tutu, the beans are thickened with manioc flour or pre-cooked corn flour flakes and added other ingredients and seasonings.
serves 6
3 cups of cooked pinto beans
1 / 2 cup chopped onion
3 garlic cloves chopped
2 tablespoon of chopped parsley
2 tablespoons of green onions, chopped
4 ounces bacon (optional) or vegetable oil
8 ounces of smoked sausage, sliced (use smoked paprika if omitting)
6 collard green leaves, chopped finely
2 boiled eggs cut into small cubes
salt
2 bay leaves
panko or bread crumbs

Fry the bacon. Add sausage and pan fry. Let it cool. Next add onion, garlic and saute. Add cooked beans with water, bring to a boil and simmer for about 10-15 minutes. Add salt, reens, egg, bay leave, and cook for another 5-7 minutes. Add the toasted corn meal to taste and get a smooth look.

Feijão com Abóbora (beans with winter squash)
3 cup of of cooked beans
3 tablespoons (soup) of oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 pound of butternut squash, cut into cubes
1 cup vegetable stock
1 bay leaf
1/2 pound of smoked sausage cut into slices (optional)
Salt to taste
Chopped parsley to taste

In pressure cooker, cook the beans for 20 minutes. Remove bean, in the same pan, heat oil, fry the onion and saute the pumpkin. Place the vegetable broth and cook for three minutes in the pressure cooker after the start to sizzle. Let go of the pressure and add the reserved beans, bay leaves, sausage, salt and cook for ten minutes without pressure. Sprinkle with parsley and serve.

Rice

serves 4
2 tablespoons vegetable oil or enough to coat the bottom of the pan
1 clove garlic
1 teaspoon of turmeric
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups water, plus as needed
1 cup rice ( a hand full per person, my mom’s way)
Rinse the rice several times, until the water runs clear. Let the rice dry
Heat up the water to a boil
Mash the garlic and salt with a mortar and pestle.
Heat the vegetable oil in a saucepan with a heavy bottom, on medium heat. Add the rice and fry stirring until golden.
Add hot water VERY carefully to rice, covering the rice by about 1/2 inch
Add the mashed garlic and salt. ( 1 tsp of turmeric to make yellow rice)
cook until the water is reduced and you see “tunnels or channels” form.
Add water to cover the rice one more time, by about 1/2 inch
When the water is reduced the second time, turn off the heat and leave rice covered for 5-10 minutes more.
Fluff rice with fork and serve.

Thank you Tara Quackenbush for the pictures bellow and for being part of the class!