Stew red beans is a standby side for rice, made from dried beans boiled until soft and then stewed with seasoning until the pot is thick, with some of the beans crushed into the gravy.
Dried red kidney beans need soaking overnight and a hard boil before they simmer: raw or undercooked kidney beans contain a natural toxin that is destroyed only by boiling. Canned beans are already cooked; the substitutions explain how to use them.
This version is vegetarian. For a meatier pot, add boiled salted pigtails with the seasoning, as many Trinidad cooks do.
The recipe
Stew Red Beans
Prep
15 min
Cook
2 hr
Soaking the beans overnight
8 hr
Total
10 hr 15 min
Serves
6
Times and quantities are our best estimates. This recipe is still being kitchen-tested, so trust your eyes and taste as you go.
Servings
Ingredient amounts are scaled. Cooking times and pot size may need adjusting too.
Ingredients
Tick items off as you gather them.
For the beans
For the stew
Method
Soak and boil the beans
Pick over the beans, rinse them, cover with plenty of cold water and soak overnight.
Drain and rinse. Put the beans in a large pot with the 8 cups (1.9 litres) fresh water and bring to a boil. Boil hard, uncovered, for 10 minutes.
Turn the heat down, partly cover and simmer for 1 to 1½ hours, until the beans are completely soft. Keep them covered with water. Drain, saving 2 cups (480 ml) of the cooking liquid.
Stew the beans
Heat the oil in a heavy pot over medium heat. Cook the onion, garlic and pimento peppers for 3 minutes until soft.
Add the tomato, green seasoning and thyme and cook for 2 to 3 minutes until the tomato breaks down.
Add the beans, 1 cup (240 ml) of the saved cooking liquid, the coconut milk and the whole pepper. Bring to a simmer.
Simmer uncovered for 20 to 25 minutes, stirring now and then, until thick and creamy. Crush some of the beans against the side of the pot to thicken the gravy, and add more cooking liquid if it gets too thick.
Taste and add salt and black pepper. Lift out the pepper without bursting it and the thyme stems, and stir in the chadon beni.
Serve it with
Plain white rice
Stew chicken, stew beef or fried fish
A fresh salad
Substitutions
Canned beans: use 2 cans (15 oz / 425 g each), drained and rinsed. Skip the soaking and boiling and stew them with 1 cup (240 ml) water instead of the cooking liquid.
Pigtails: boil 8 oz (225 g) salted pigtails in two changes of water to take out the salt, and add them with the tomato. Taste before adding any salt.
Storing and reheating
Refrigerate in a covered container and eat within 4 days, or freeze for up to 3 months.
Reheat with a splash of water until piping hot.
Cook's notes
Never cook dried kidney beans in a slow cooker without boiling them hard first: the low heat is not enough to destroy the toxin.
Some cooks add a little browned sugar before the onion for a darker stew.
