Root Source: Black Beans

by Cookthink

what you should know  Though you can interchange them with just about any other bean, there's something distinctive about black beans. Is it black beans' meaty texture? Their earthy flavor? The shock of dark, shiny color they bring to a dish? Whatever it is, black beans just seem more substantial—less like filler and more like something to be chewed and savored. complete me Like other legumes, black beans are high in complex carbohydrates and fiber, and low in fat. With rice (or some other grain), black beans form a complete protein. canned vs. dry While we love the flavor and texture of long-cooked dry beans, we always have canned beans in the pantry and gladly use them when time is an issue. (Remember to always rinse canned beans.)  national treasure Because they're so cheap to grow and so easy to process and store, black beans serve as the backbone to several "national dishes", including Cuba's moros y cristianos and Brazil's feijoada.  misnomer Despite the name, black bean sauce is not made using black beans. what you need We did some back-of-the-napkin figuring and concluded that this Le Creuset soup pot is what we use most often when cooking beans. Heirloom bean expert Steve Sando covers dips, spreads, soups, salads and salsas in his new book Heirloom Beans. To get your hands on some heirloom beans, order them directly from Sando's Napa-based Rancho Gordo. what you do Basic black beans go well with just about anything but are as delicious on their own.  What black bean dip and a cold Michelada lack in elegance, they compensate for in flavor.  Domenica Marchetti makes one of our favorite bean soups, a smoky and inky black bean and ham bone soup. Our hands down, all-time favorite way to use black beans? In burritos. We like to go Spanish with black beans and rice by adding chorizo and peppers. But it's hard to top the rice-and-bean chemistry at work in the Cuban national dish of moros y cristianos. Speaking of national dishes, Brazilian feijoada is the ultimate version of pork and beans. Featured recipe: Black beans add fiber and protein to these gluten-free fudge brownies.