Beans (Brazilian)

Equipment

• Pressure cooker
• Immersion blender (optional but makes things easier)

Notes on pressure cooking

• The listed time to pressure cook something only starts counting from the moment pressure is achieved
• With an Instant Pot use high pressure, and make sure you turn the release valve to sealing instead of venting

Ingredients

Beans

• 3 cups beans (1 lb), unsoaked
• 9 cups water (3x cups beans)

Seasoning

• 1 medium onion, diced small
• 3 cloves garlic, crushed
• olive oil, to taste
• salt, to taste
• 3/4 lb tomatoes, diced small

Instructions

1. Wash the beans, removing any rocks or particularly disfigured beans
2. Combine beans and water in pressure cooker and pressure cook for 50 minutes
3. While the beans are cooking, start the seasoning:
   1. Saute the onions until translucent, then add the garlic and saute another minute
   2. Add the tomatoes and salt and continue sauteing until the mixture has the consistency of a sauce, then set it aside
4. Once the beans have finished pressure cooking, let them sit for 15 minutes to naturally release some of the pressure, then use whatever quick release method is safe to let off remaining pressure
5. In a bowl (a liquid measuring cup works well for this) combine the seasoning and a few ladles of beans/bean broth
6. Mix with the immersion blender, or sort of smash things with a wooden spoon if you don’t have one, then pour back into the rest of the beans
7. Taste and adjust salt if necessary

Bonus

Serve some of the bean broth in shot glasses while it’s still hot. This is called caldinho, and it’s delicious! It will also use up some of the broth–this recipe tends to be a bit watery the first day but will thicken up after.

• Lunch
• Dinner