The Ultimate Rice Cooker (50 page)
3. When the beans are tender, turn off the rice cooker and carefully open the cover. Carefully remove the rice cooker pan with oven mitts. Add the salt and any other seasonings. If you add wine or sherry, cook for a few minutes longer to let the alcohol cook off and set the flavor.
4. Now the beans are ready to eat (go ahead and dip some fresh bread or flour tortillas into the pot), to be refrigerated, or to be used as an ingredient in another recipe. Let cool to room temperature, then store in a covered container for up to five days or freeze for up to six months. Beans tend to improve in flavor a day or so after cooking.
COOKING TIMES
While beans are often categorized by whether they were first grown in the Old or New World, I like how chef and food doyenne Madeleine Kamman denotes them: by color.
The white varieties include garbanzos (also called chickpeas or cecis), small plump navy beans, soldier beans, plain white beans (known as haricots), Great Northern beans, black-eyed peas, and butter beans. White beans take the longest time to cook.
The rose-pink to red-black varieties include red kidney beans, small pink (a small kidney) and red beans, black or turtle beans, black runner beans, pinto beans (nicknamed the Mexican strawberry because of their mottled coloring) and its hybrids like rattle snake and appaloosa beans, and cranberry beans, the traditional New England bean used in succotash.
The green varieties include all types of large and baby limas and flageolets. The lighter the color of the bean, the more delicate the flavor; the darker the bean, the sweeter, more robust, and earthier its taste.
The following chart is based on using 1 cup of dried beans or legumes with at least 3 inches of water to cover in the rice cooker. Beans can also be cooked in chicken or vegetable stock, which tastes especially nice if the beans will be eaten as a side dish. If the beans are to be used in another dish, such as chili or a cassoulet, you will cook them al dente rather than totally soft because they will be cooked further. It is important to remember that the beans should always be completely covered with water throughout the entire cooking time, because the cooker cooks at a high simmer and some evaporation is expected. Beans are done when tender and most of the cooking liquid has been absorbed.
Cooking Beans
You can use a medium-size rice cooker for this measurement or a large rice cooker and double the proportions. If you have a small rice cooker, cook only ½ cup of beans at a time. Be sure the total amount of ingredients does not exceed the limitations of your rice cooker’s capacity. These times are meant as guidelines, as variables such as hard or soft water, the mineral composition of the soil where the beans were grown, and the age of the beans can affect cooking times, sometimes significantly. Remember that beans and legumes always take slightly longer to cook at higher altitudes.
Serve these delightful lentils, known as
lentilles du Puy
, as a side dish with roasted or broiled meats and poultry. They are especially delicious as a bed for Cornish game hens or pheasant during the winter holidays. While this lentil is a special import from France, there is now a domestic grown variety that is every bit as good.
MACHINE: Medium (6-cup) rice cooker ;
fuzzy logic or on/of f
CYCLE: Regular
YIELD: 2 cups; serves 4
1 cup dried petite French green lentils, rinsed
2 cups chicken or vegetable stock
3 tablespoons unsalted butter Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1. Place the lentils and stock in the rice cooker bowl. Close the cover, set for the regular cycle, and set a timer for 40 minutes.
2. At the end of cooking, the liquid will all be absorbed. When the machine switches to the Keep Warm cycle or the timer sounds, remove the bowl from the rice cooker and stir in the butter and salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately.
Hummus is a mashed puree of chickpeas, garlic, olive oil, and lemon that is immensely popular in the Middle East. People who love it always make it from scratch, cooking their own chickpeas. It can be served as a dip or thinned and served as a sauce for foods such as falafel. Some people like their hummus really garlicky, others like it milder. If you like it with garlic, be prepared to eat it within two days for the best flavor.
To serve, make a depression in the top of the hummus and drizzle with olive oil until it runs down the sides and pools in the side of the dish. Place spears of romaine lettuce all around for dipping. Give each person a whole fresh pita bread to tear and scoop up this dip.
MACHINE: Medium (6-cup) or large (10
cup) rice cooker; on/off or fuzzy logic
CYCLE: Regular
YIELD: 3 cups; serves 12 as an appetizer
1 cup dried chickpeas, picked over, rinsed, soaked in water to cover (overnight or quick-soak method), and drained
Salt
2 to 3 cloves garlic, or more to taste, peeled
¼ to ⅓ cup fresh lemon juice
⅓ cup sesame paste (tahini)
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
Pinch of cayenne pepper
1. Place the chickpeas in the rice cooker bowl and cover with 3 inches of water. Close the cover, set for the regular cycle, and set a timer for 1½ hours. During the last half hour of cooking, season with salt to taste.
2. When the timer sounds, test the beans for doneness. Drain the beans, reserving the liquid.
3. In a food processor, finely chop the garlic. Add the warm chickpeas and pulse to mash them. Add the lemon juice, sesame paste, olive oil, and cayenne and, while the machine is running, slowly add 1.3 cup of the reserved cooking liquid through the feed tube until you get a fluffy, smooth consistency. Taste and adjust the flavors.
4. Transfer to a serving bowl and serve immediately, or refrigerate, covered, until ready to serve.
Black beans, also known as turtle beans, are the cornerstone of Central and South American soul food, just like the pinto bean is in Mexican cooking. Once a specialty item, we now see black beans in every supermarket. They have an appealing, rather addictive, natural flavor and are easy to digest. If you like a smoky edge to your black beans, add two canned chipotle chiles. I like to float a few tablespoons of olive oil on top of the cooked beans before serving.
MACHINE: Medium (6-cup) or large (10
cup) rice cooker; fuzzy logic or on/of f
CYCLE: Regular
YIELD: About 4 cups; serves 8
1 pound (about 2 cups) dried black beans, picked over, rinsed, soaked in water to cover (overnight or quick-soak method), and drained
1 medium-size yellow onion, finely chopped
1 medium-size green or red bell pepper, seeded and finely chopped
1 or 2 fresh jalapeño chiles, seeded and minced
½ teaspoon ground cumin
1 bay leaf
½ cup tomato sauce or salsa
2 quarts water
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
Salt
1. Place the beans, onion, bell pepper, jalapeño, cumin, bay leaf, tomato sauce or salsa, and water in the rice cooker bowl. Close the cover, set for the regular cycle, and set a timer for 1½ hours.
2. When the timer sounds, you will have plenty of liquid with the cooked beans. Taste the beans for doneness. Remove the bay leaf. Stir in the vinegar, season with salt to taste, and serve immediately.
The large oval white kidney bean, also called cannellini, is a favorite home-cooked bean. It has a delicate, sweet flavor and cooks up nice and firm. These beans are a great side dish for fish and meats.
MACHINE: Medium (6-cup) or large (10 cup) rice cooker; fuzzy logic or on/of f
CYCLE: Regular
YIELD: About 3 cups; serves 6
¼ cup olive oil
1 medium-size yellow onion, cut into 8 wedges
1 large piece prosciutto rind or 1 small smoked ham hock
1 large carrot, cut into thick slices
2 stalks celery, with leaves, cut into chunks
1 cup dried cannellini beans, picked over, rinsed, soaked in water to cover (overnight or quick-soak method), and drained
3 cups chicken stock
2 bay leaves
Pinch of dried thyme
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1. Place the olive oil, onion, and meat in the rice cooker bowl. Set the rice cooker for the regular or Quick Cook cycle and cook for about 15 minutes, stirring a few times. Add the carrot and celery and cook for another 10 minutes to soften slightly, stirring a few times.
2. Add the beans, then add the chicken stock and herbs; stir to combine. Close the cover, reset for the regular cycle, and set a timer for 1¼ to 1½ hours.
3. When the timer sounds, remove the meat and bay leaves and taste for doneness. Season the beans with salt and pepper to taste and serve immediately.
Frijoles—beans, refried beans, or leftover beans—are mainstays of old California rancho cooking. This is the real thing from food writer Jacquie McMahan, who grew up on a Bay Area rancho, or Spanish land grant. You never add any special flavorings and every meal offers them, especially barbecues and family holidays. Traditionally cooked in an earthenware bean pot called a
cazuela
, the rice cooker mimics its lovely slow-cooked quality that makes great beans. You will need a cast-iron skillet (10- to 12-inch is perfect) or other nice, heavy skillet to finish cooking the beans.
MACHINE: Large (10-cup) rice cooker ;
fuzzy logic or on/of f
CYCLE: Regular
YIELD: Serves 6
1 pound (about 2 cups) dried pink or pinto beans, picked over, rinsed, soaked for 4 hours in water to cover (or use quick-soak method), and drained
6 cups water
1 medium-size yellow onion, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 heaping teaspoon chili powder
