Legume
Black beans
Also called turtle beans
Small oval pulses with a jet skin and a creamy interior, sometimes called turtle beans. They hold their shape in a long pot and stain the broth purple-black.
Origin
A New World crop selected in Mexico and the Andes, then taken into Brazilian feijoada, Cuban moros and Caribbean rice pots. The same species is now a dry-goods staple worldwide.
Flavour
Dense, earthy and a little sweet, with a faint mushroom note once the pot has simmered. Creamy centres are the sign they are done.
How to use it
Soak overnight, drain, and start in fresh water with onion, garlic and a bay leaf. Simmer gently until the inside is soft — a rolling boil splits skins. Salt late. For feijoada, the beans cook with smoked meats so the pot seasons itself. Tinned beans work for a quick mash if you rinse the liquor and fry them with cumin. Do not add acid — vinegar, tomato, lime — until they are already tender, or they stay stubborn. They should look inky and taste round, not dusty.
Storage
Keep dried beans in a cool cupboard. Cooked beans hold three days in their pot liquor, and freeze well if left a little saucy.
Recipes using it
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