Recipe: Tepary Beans with Salsa Verde

Ingredients:

For the beans:
1 pound Tepary beans (or navy, cannellini or pinto)
1/2 cup total minced celery, carrot, and onion combined
1/2 pound pork sausage, such as chorizo or andouille (optional)
Salt and fresh ground black pepper, to taste
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon


For the Salsa Verde (Makes about 2 1/2 cups)

4 to 5 tomatillos, husks removed, cut in half
2 guero or Anaheim chiles
3 to 4 cloves garlic, peeled
1 small bunch fresh cilantro, divided
1 small bunch green onions or 1 small white or yellow onion
1 ripe avocado
Salt, to taste
Fresh squeezed lime juice, plus wedges for garnish

Directions:

  1. Soak beans overnight or pour boiling water to cover and let sit about 45 minutes.  Drain beans and set aside.
  2. In a large soup pot, heat oil over medium-high heat.  Add sausage, if using, celery, onion, and carrot.  Let cook, stirring occaiosionally, about 10 minutes or until meat starts to brown and crisp.  Add cinnamon, salt (about 1 teaspoon to start), pepper (about 1/4 teaspoon to start), and stir to combine.  Pour enough water to cover beans by about 3 inches.  Stir and turn heat to medium-high.  When water starts to bubble, skim froth from the top of pot to remove any excess fat; discard. Turn heat to medium-low and let beans cook (simmer) for about 50 minutes.  Taste broth and a bean or two after about 30 minutes to see if you need to add more salt or pepper.
  3. Make Salsa Verde by combining all the Salsa Verde ingredients (except for the lime wedges) in bowl of food processor.  Pulse until well-blended and starting to get smooth but not fully pureed.  This should make about 2 1/2 cups.  
  4. When beans are cooked but still a bit al dente, stir in 1 1/2 cups Salsa Verde mixture and let cook about 10 minutes.  Taste and add more, as desired.  Serve remaining Salsa Verde with fresh tortillas or tortilla chips with the beans. Garnish, if desired, with lime wedges, radish slices, queso fresca, and more fresh cilantro.