Rancho Gordo Beans

We just received a shipment of dried beans from Rancho Gordo in Napa.  On Saturday I cooked a package of Rancho Gordo Flageolet beans at the store and sampled them throughout the afternoon.  The recipe/technique was dead simple – just soaked them overnight, and the next day I cooked them at a soft boil/simmer for about an hour.  Simply seasoned with red onion, bayleaf, and a little dried Italian seasoning we had available.  Once tender, I seasoned them with salt, a good dash of sherry vinegar, and a little Cappezzana nuovo olive oil we had on hand.  At home I might have seasoned them further with Pancetta, or maybe even serving them with Confit Duck Leg.

In addition to dried beans, we also received dried hominy, popping corn, and New Mexico chile powder from Rancho Gordo.  I was so inspired by the beans we prepared on Saturday that I brought home a bag of dried hominy to cook for my Sunday dinner at home the next day.  When I was a kid we ate hominy regularly.  Where I’m from it’s quite common, but in our house the hominy was always from a can.  My dad liked to cook it with lots of butter (margarine actually), and I liked to mix it in my mashed potatoes  Initially I was thinking to make Posole, or maybe a green chile stew with hominy, but I ended up making a “kitchen sink” hominy stew instead.

I soaked the hominy in water before going to bed.  Like many dried grains, it plumped overnight to about double.  The next morning I drained the water, and added fresh water to the pot.  I brought the hominy to a boil, and lowered the heat all the way and let it simmer for a couple of hours.  The hominy doubled in size again, and became soft yet chewy in texture.  To make the stew, I browned a couple of slices of Pancetta we had in the fridge, and sweated chopped white onion with a crushed garlic clove, mexican oregano, thyme, and bayleaf.  I deglazed with white wine, and filled the pan with chopped kale, coarse chopped carrots and fingerling potatoes, a bone in chicken leg quarter, the cooked hominy, and topped it with stock.  After about an hour of gentle simmering I removed the chicken and bay leaf, shredded the chicken and returned it to the pot, and seasoned the stock with salt, cayenne, and sherry vinegar.  Oh, and I chopped a little cilantro for garnish in the bowl at serving.  We ate the stew with bread, and Manchego cheese.  It was delicious.  Leftovers will be even better!

Hominy Stew

• 1/2 cup dried hominy
• white onion
• kale
• garlic
• carrots
• potatoes
• bone in chicken thigh(s) or breast(s)
• mexican oregano
• thyme
• bayleaf
• cayenne pepper
• stock – veggie, chicken, veal – it’s all good
• options – pancetta or bacon to build the base; cilantro, parsley, or chives for garnish

Enjoy!

-Ray