From Therese Martin’s Kitchen
Ingredients
- ½ medium onion, chopped
- 1 chooped carrot
- ½ cup chopped celery
- ½ bulb chopped fennel
- 1 clove finely chopped garlic
- Olive oil
- ¼ cup vegetable stock
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- ¼ teaspoon Chinese 5 Spice
- ½ teaspoon coriander
- ½ teaspoon crushed with a mortar and pestle fennel seeds
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon turmeric
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 2 cups vegetable stock
- 1 pound rinsed Rancho Gordo Ayocote Negro beans
- 3 poblano peppers
- 1 onion, cut in chunks
- 1 fennel bulb, cut in chunks
- 1 small butternut squash, peeled and cut in chunks
- 1 Japanese sweet potato, peeled and cut in chunks
- 2 cloves garlic
- Olive oil
- pinch of Salt
- pinch of Pepper
- oinch of Herbes de Provence
- ½ quart vegetable stock
Preparation
Soak 1 pound of Rancho Gordo Ayocote Negro beans overnight in a large stockpot. Make sure there is plenty of water as they are a big bean and will swell up. The water should be at least a couple inches higher than the beans. Do not drain the beans as we will use the bean water in the stew.
Cooking
Roast 3 poblano peppers until the skin is blackened. I prefer roasting peppers over the open gas flame, but you can also roast them in your oven. Once blackened, place the peppers in a paper bag to cool. Once cooled, peel the charred skins away and remove the seeds. This is very important as the seeds will add a lot of heat to the dish if not removed. Chop the peppers into large chunks and set aside.
Slurry
Now we’ll begin to create our slurry mixture. Preheat your oven to 400°. Place the onion, fennel, squash, sweet potato and garlic in a bowl, and lightly dress with olive oil. Season with salt and pepper and Herbes de Provence, to taste. Roast vegetables on a parchment-lined sheet pan for 10–20 minutes. Remove vegetables when roasted to your liking.
Place ¾ of your roasted vegetable slurry mixture in a stockpot with ½ quart vegetable stock, and cook for about 10 minutes on medium heat. Add additional stock if necessary. Cool and put this mixture in a blender and blend until smooth.
Mirepoix
Place onion, carrot, celery, fennel, garlic and 2 of the chopped poblano peppers in a large pot. Add a touch of olive oil and ¼ cup vegetable stock and cook on medium heat for 5 minutes, until the onion is translucent. Stir in cumin, Chinese 5 Spice, coriander, crushed fennel seeds, salt, turmeric and cinnamon. Once combined, add the soaked beans and the bean water into the pot. Do not re-rinse the beans or drain! Add 2 cups vegetable stock and bring to a boil. Once you reach a boil, cover and simmer.
After about 30 to 45 minutes, you’ll notice that the water level will have gone down, and that the beans will have started to cook. Keep a close eye, because once you see this has happened, you need to add your slurry mixture and the remaining chopped poblano pepper. Add the can of garbanzo beans and the split peas and additional vegetable stock if necessary. Simmer for another 30–45 minutes and serve with warm bread and salad.
