Pinto Bean Spread

Lois Ellen Frank, PhD, and Walter Whitewater — Fri, 08 Sep 2023 17:42:12 +0000

The following recipe is adapted from Seed to Plate, Soil to Sky: Modern Plant-Based Recipes Using Native American Ingredients by Lois Ellen Frank with culinary adviser Walter Whitewater. Read our Q&A with chefs Frank and Whitewater here.

Chef Walter grew up eating pinto beans all the time, and he loves this bean spread served on sandwiches, toast, and with freshly cut vegetables for a family gathering or celebration. I use this spread on my toast in the morning for a quick, nutritious breakfast. For an ancestral twist, try making it with brown tepary beans (S-oam Bavi), white tepary beans (S-totoah Bavi), and black tepary beans (S-chuuk Bavi). We find that blackening garlic is well worth the extra 10 minutes of prep time. It softens the flavor of raw garlic and brings an earthy quality to any dish.

For more vegan spreads, check out these tasty ideas:

Yield: 3 cups

1 cup peeled garlic cloves
1 pinch dried thyme
Sea salt, to taste
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2 15.5-oz. cans no-salt-added pinto beans (3 cups)
¼ cup lemon juice
1 teaspoon mild New Mexico red chile powder (optional)

Instructions

For Blackened Garlic, heat a small cast-iron skillet over high. Add garlic cloves to hot skillet. Cook 3 minutes or until garlic starts to blacken. Cook and stir 3 minutes more or until garlic is lightly blackened on all sides. Add dried thyme and a pinch each of sea salt and freshly ground black pepper; toss to coat. Transfer to a cutting board; let cool. Mince garlic.
Drain pinto beans, reserving liquid. Rinse and drain beans. If you like, reserve a few beans for garnish.
In a food processor combine beans and 3 tablespoons Blackened Garlic; process until smooth. Add lemon juice and chile powder (if using). Season with salt and black pepper. Process until creamy. (There should be no lumps.) Add reserved liquid from the pinto beans, 1 to 2 tablespoons at a time, as needed to reach desired texture. Top with reserved beans (if using) and additional chile powder. Serve Pinto Bean Spread immediately or store in an airtight container in the refrigerator up to 3 days. Store leftover Blackened Garlic in a separate airtight container in the refrigerator up to 4 days.

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Pinto Bean Spread

Instructions