beans and corn are two very popular ingredients in southwestern cooking.

we will
learn a little about each and how they have influenced the southwestern cuisine.
today's recipes from the new southwest cookbook by carolyn niethammer come from
the tall timber resort in durango, colorado and from the roaring fork in
scottsdale, arizona.

beans:

all cultures need a reliable source of protein to thrive, and in the americas one
primary source for millennia was beans. beans are one of the oldest new world
foods, originating probably in southern mexico or central america at least 7,000
years ago. when early european travelers arrived in the southwest, they found
native peoples raising and storing impressive crops of beans, and were able to
trade goods for the local food that helped them along their journeys.

today, earthy-tasting, creamy refried pinto beans are a ubiquitous staple of

mexican restaurants. the beans are boiled until soft, mashed, and then fried in
lard. in their dried state pintos are mottled beige and brown, but turn reddish
brown when cooked. they are used classically in tostadas. more recently, however
inventive restaurant chefs in the region have found ways to include other
varieties of beans and cooking methods on their menus. small black turtle beans,
also called frijoles negros, have gained great popularity. they are not actually
black but a very deep purple, which you will notice when some of the color leaches
into the soaking water.

unusual varieties of heirloom beans are also increasingly found in specialty

stores and on plates in innovative restaurants. among the most popular are the
beautifully mottled burgundy and white variety called anasazi, named after the
native americans who lived in the four corners region until around the thirteenth
century a.d. similar in appearance are appaloosa beans.

there are many other heirloom varieties that you can experiment with including
flor de mayo (soft lavender from mexico), yellow eye (mixed white and yellow from
a four corners family farm), and colorado river (maroon and cream). other heirloom
beans developed from native american varieties include bolitas, a close relative
of the pinto, and the tiny teparies, developed over generations by the tohono
o'odham people and adapted to grow in hot desert summers.

cooking beans:

one of the advantages of beans as a food is that they can be dried for long-term
storage. that means that to become edible, they must be rehydrated, and that often
takes time. you do this by covering them with cold water (at least one inch over
the beans) and soaking for several hours or overnight, during which time they will
take up water through the little "hilum" - the place at which each bean was
attached to the pod. this will shorten the cooking time and also remove
indigestible complex sugars, called oligosaccharides, that cause gas. by changing
the soaking water several times and rinsing the beans before adding clean water,
you will get even better results.

if you need to cook your beans quickly, you can use the quick-soak method. use a
large pot, because the beans will swell to three times their size. cover the beans
with plenty of cold, unsalted water. bring to a boil over high heat for about 5
minutes. then remove from the heat, cover, and let them soak for about 1 hour.
drain, rinse, and cover with fresh water to cook.

source: the new southwest cookbook by carolyn niethammer