Portuguese Style Beans Recipes

Steps:

• Place the first 20 ingredients in a 7-qt. slow cooker. Cook, covered, on low 7-9 hours or until vegetables are tender. Remove bay leaves and orange and lemon zest strips., Transfer 4 cups soup to a blender; cool slightly. Cover; process until smooth. Return to slow cooker; add green onions, cilantro and parsley. Heat through., Freeze option: Freeze cooled soup in freezer containers. To use, partially thaw in refrigerator overnight. Heat through in a saucepan, stirring occasionally; add a little broth if necessary.

Steps:

• 1. Wash beans and soak overnight. (I have skipped this step and just washed the beans and added 4 cups of water or enough to cover the beans and put it on the stove)
• 2. Fry pork and onion and garlic and add to beans. Bring to a boil and add rest of the ingredients. Cover and simmer for 2-4 hours over low heat.
• 3. Note: you can substitute the ham for linguica. Silvas is the best!

Steps:

• If using dried beans, add the beans to a large bowl, cover by 2 inches with cold water and let soak for at least 8 hours, or overnight. Drain and set aside. If using canned beans, drain and rinse.
• Add the bacon, if using, to a large, heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat and cook until browned and crisp, about 10 minutes. Remove the bacon and set aside. Discard all but 1 tablespoon of the fat and return the skillet to the stovetop. Add the sausage and cook until browned. With a slotted spoon, remove the sausage to a bowl and reserve.
• Discard all but 1 tablespoon of the fat from the skillet and return to the stove over medium heat. When the fat shimmers, add the onion and garlic, stir to coat in fat, and cook until golden brown, about 4 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
• Add the potatoes and stir to coat in the tomato paste. Add the beans, chorizo, and all remaining ingredients, except the bacon, and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer until the flavors have melded and the dried beans are cooked through, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Crumble the bacon into beans, and season with additional salt, if needed. Remove the bay leaf, transfer the beans to a serving bowl and serve.

Steps:

• Soak beans overnight, then cook until tender, about 2 hours, or according to package directions. Drain.
• Meanwhile, in a large skillet heat oil over medium heat and sauté onions and garlic until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the ground beef and cook until no longer pink; be sure to break up the meat into small pieces. Add tomato sauce, cloves, chili powder, salt and pepper, parsley, and the red pepper (leave whole).
• Add beans and cook another 25 minutes, covered.

Steps:

• *NOTE: Can also substitute sausage for the bacon or ham hock. Portuguese linguica, Spanish chorizo or Louisiana andouille, vegetarian "soyrizo", etc. are suggestions. My preference being bacon as I don't care for sausage or ham hock.
• For additional flavor, I usually dry roast the spices in a castiron skillet.
• Soak the beans overnight. Cook the bacon or ham hock and drain on paper towel. Next saute the onion and garlic. Once cooled, break up the bacon into little pieces.
• In large Dutch oven or in crock pot, combine all the ingredients, including the water, excluding the salt. If using a Dutch oven, simmer the beans on medium-low for about 1 1/2 to 2 hours or until beans are soft.
• If using a crock pot simmer on low 8 hours or until beans are soft. Salt the beans once cooked.
• Adjust seasoning before serving. Now season with salt.
• Remove whole cloves, cinnamon stick and whole allspice.
• Great with freshly baked, crusty bread. Tastes even better if prepared one day ahead then warmed.