Delicious black beans

photo credit: www.simplyrecipes.com

2 cups dry black beans

8 cups water (more as needed)

1 sprig fresh rosemary or 1 tsp dry

1-2 bay leaves

1 (3in) piece of kombu (optional)

1 tsp cumin

¼ tsp cayenne (optional)

1 pinch of cinnamon

1-2 cloves garlic, smashed

2 tsp salt, plus more to taste

juice of ½ a lime

Cilantro for garnish

Place your beans in a colander, remove any small stones, and rinse. Add to a large pot or dutch oven with water and bring to a boil.

Once boiling, add herbs, kombu, spices, garlic, salt, and reduce to a simmer. Continue to simmer uncovered, stirring occasionally, until beans are tender and creamy, anywhere from 1.5-2.5 hrs depending on the freshness of your beans. You may need to add more water as you go, just be sure you maintain a simmer, adjusting heat accordingly.

Once the beans are done cooking, remove from heat, pick out whole herbs and kombu. Stir in lime juice and serve with cilantro garnish.

Play around with spice and herb combos for the beans (try thyme, Mexican oregano, chili powder, or tamari!) and DO NOT feel like every ingredient listed here needs to be added for tasty beans. The key, as with most cooking, is to add enough salt, and in this case, add it during the cooking process. This will not toughen or slow the cooking of your beans as some caution. Without going too deep into the science, salting your beans’ water, whether for soaking or cooking, helps them absorb moisture as they cook, decreases the likelihood they will burst their skin, and makes them taste better! Go salt!