Caribbean Stewed Red Beans

Name: Caribbean Stewed Red Beans
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 1 h 20 min
Total time: 1 h 40 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Caribbean
Ingredients: 1 1/2 cups Kidney beans, dried, soaked overnight; 1 Yellow onion, diced; 4 cloves Garlic, minced; 3 Scallions, chopped; 6 sprigs Thyme; 1/2 tsp Allspice, ground; 1 Habanero, left whole; 1 cup Canned crushed tomatoes; 1 Bay leave; 1 tbsp Apple cider vinegar; 1 cup long grain brown rice, cooked, to serve

Serves 4 100 min total, 20 min hands on Caribbean $0.75 per serving No added salt

Rice and stewed beans, in one form or another, anchor tables across the Caribbean. This pot leans on fresh thyme, allspice, and a whole scotch bonnet, which is the classic move: it flavors the whole pot while staying intact, so you get its brightness without wrecking everyone's dinner. Coconut is traditional in some islands but not needed here.

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups Kidney beans, dried, soaked overnight
1 Yellow onion, diced
4 cloves Garlic, minced
3 Scallions, chopped
6 sprigs Thyme
1/2 tsp Allspice, ground
1 Habanero, left whole
1 cup Canned crushed tomatoes
1 Bay leave
1 tbsp Apple cider vinegar
1 cup long grain brown rice, cooked, to serve

Method

Boil the soaked kidney beans hard in fresh water for 10 minutes, then drain. This hard boil is not optional with kidney beans; it removes a compound that is otherwise rough on the stomach.
Return the beans to the pot with the onion, garlic, scallions, thyme, allspice, bay leaf, and 5 cups (1.2 L) fresh water. Nestle the whole habanero on top. Leaving it whole gives you the fruity perfume of the chile with only a little of its heat, as long as it does not burst.
Simmer, partly covered, until the beans are fully tender and creamy, 60 to 75 minutes. Add hot water if they rise above the surface.
Stir in the crushed tomatoes and simmer, uncovered, for 15 minutes, until the sauce thickens.
Fish out the whole habanero, the thyme stems, and the bay leaf. For more heat, mash a little of the chile back in, carefully.
Mash a ladle of beans against the side of the pot and stir it back in for body. Turn off the heat and stir in the cider vinegar.
Serve over brown rice, with the thick bean gravy spooned over the top.

Nutrition

Estimated per serving: 335 calories, 19 g protein, 14 g fiber. Computed from USDA FoodData Central reference values for the main ingredients. This is an approximation, not a laboratory measurement.

Cost per serving is estimated from US national-average retail prices for cheap staple forms, using BLS dried-bean prices and USDA produce prices. Prices vary by store and season, so treat it as a guide, not a receipt.