Beans soaked overnight, then cooked with smoked sausage, green plantain and a base of onion, tomato and garlic. Heartier than a plain pot of beans and closer to a full meal.
The plantain is the thickener
Green plantain goes in chopped very small, and that is deliberate. Cut into chunks it stays as chunks; cut small it breaks down during the cooking and its starch thickens the broth.
This is why there is no flour anywhere in the recipe and why the beans end up in a sauce rather than in water. Green plantain, not ripe: the ripe one is sweet and turns the pot into something else entirely.
The base goes in twice
Half the fried onion, tomato and garlic goes in with the beans, and half goes in at the end. It is a small thing and it changes the result.
The first half dissolves into the broth over the cooking and disappears into the background. The second half stays recognisable, so you can still taste tomato and onion as distinct things rather than as a uniform brown. Colombian cooking does this often and it is worth copying.
Soaking water
The beans go into the pot with the water they soaked in, not with fresh water. Some starch has already leached out overnight, and it helps thicken the pot.
Some cooks discard soaking water on the theory that it causes wind. The evidence for that is thin, and in this recipe the liquid is doing useful work.
How long the beans really take
The recipe assumes a pressure cooker, which is standard in Colombian kitchens and gets soaked beans done in about twenty minutes.
In an ordinary pot, expect an hour and a half after soaking. Add the plantain in the last half hour so it does not disintegrate completely.
More beans
- Traditional Colombian beans — the Sunday pot, with pork.
- Cazuela de frijoles — the same beans, served in a bowl with everything on top.
- White bean soup — the lighter one.
- Colombian beans and pulses — which bean to buy abroad.
Ranchero Beans FAQ
Because its job is to dissolve. Green plantain chopped small breaks down during cooking and its starch thickens the broth, which is why there is no flour in the recipe. In chunks it stays as chunks and the broth stays thin.
Green. Ripe plantain is sweet and turns the pot into a different dish. Green plantain is starchy and almost neutral, which is what you want here.
This recipe uses it, and it helps: some starch has leached into it overnight and it thickens the broth. The idea that soaking water causes wind is not well supported.
About an hour and a half after an overnight soak, against roughly twenty minutes under pressure. Add the plantain in the last half hour so it does not disappear completely.
A table sauce, not a powder. It is made from chopped chilli, onion, cilantro, lime and water, and it is served in a bowl for people to add themselves. Half a tablespoon in the pot is unusual and mild.
📖 Recipe
Ingredients
- 400 g beans of your choice (soaked overnight; cargamanto or cranberry beans are the Colombian ones)
- 2 green plantains (chopped very small so they break down into the broth)
- ½ cup onion, finely chopped
- ½ cup tomato, diced
- 1 cup smoked sausages (fried first and added later, so they keep their texture)
- 2 cloves garlic
- 2 tablespoons oil
- 1 carrot, grated
- ½ tablespoon ají (the Colombian table sauce, not chilli powder)
- Salt and black pepper, to taste
Notas
Instructions
- Soak the beans in water overnight.
- The next day, fry the sausage in a pan with a little oil. Once done, take it out and set it aside.
- In the same pan, fry the finely chopped onion and garlic together with the diced tomato until softened.
- Put the beans and their soaking water into a pot and bring them to the boil, then let them cook until they start to soften.
- Add the sausages, half of the fried base, the green plantains chopped very small, and the grated carrot. Cover and cook.
- Uncover the pot, turn the heat to medium-low, add the other half of the base and the ají, and leave it uncovered so the broth reduces and thickens.
- Check the salt and pepper, and serve with white rice.
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