Green Chili Bean Bake @lucyburdette

LUCY BURDETTE: The original recipe for these beans came from the New York Times cooking. I’ve learned from many of my bean loving pals on the Rancho Gordo Facebook group that you can make beans with many diversions from a recipe. John and I both thought this version was delicious!

Ingredients

1/2  pound Rancho Gordo pinto beans (could use other beans or in a pinch, canned beans and drained)

16 ounces green tomatillo salsa or another of your choosing (I used half a jar of green tomatillo and half a jar of black bean corn salsa that was in the refrigerator. The combination was delicious.)

One onion

Two large green peppers, or one plus 8 Shishito peppers

One cup shredded Monterey Jack or pepper jack cheese

A good handful fresh cilantro

Prepare the beans by soaking overnight and then simmering in water for about one hour, or until soft. Meanwhile, chop the peppers and onions. (Or request your minions to do so.)

Once the onions and peppers are soft, add the beans with half of their cooking liquid to an oven proof frying pan. Add the salsa and simmer until warm. Distribute the cheese over the top of the bean mixture and bake until golden. 

(I was making a new version of cornbread at the same time, so my oven was set to 450 rather than 400.) You can also broil it until the cheese is brown, or simmer it on the stove, covered, until the cheese is melted. Serve with cornbread!

Lucy Burdette writes the Key West food critic mystery series including USA Today bestselling A POISONOUS PALATE and A CLUE IN THE CRUMBS. 

Book 15 in the Key West series, THE MANGO MURDERS, will be in bookstores on August 12!

And the new trade paperback edition of A CLUE IN THE CRUMBS is out now!

Leek and Lentil Soup with Potatoes and Lemon @LucyBurdette

LUCY BURDETTE: I have a bean problem. I know we should be eating more beans and vegetables and less meat. So I signed up for the waiting list of the Rancho Gordo bean club. To members of this club, Rancho Gordo sends out a quarterly box of various specialty beans and usually an extra bonus like bay leaves or paprika. The club is very popular and hard to get into, so I figured I would have a wait. Therefore, I wasn’t too worried about using the proceeds. But then I was admitted – hooray! Except gulp, that means I receive a new box of dried beans every three months. This is what things look like in my bean drawer, and that is after I’d given away several packages for various birthday gifts. So I know I better get cracking! (Bean recipe suggestions welcome!)

Today’s recipe is a variation on good old-fashioned lentil soup. We happen to have some gorgeous leeks left in the garden, but if you don’t have that or prefer onions, feel free to substitute.

Ingredients

One cup brown Lentils

2 to 3 leeks, well washed.

Three stalks celery

Three carrots

Four or five small potatoes

1 to 3 cloves of garlic, depending on your audience

1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika

14 ounces chopped tomatoes

One box beef broth

1 teaspoon chili in adobo sauce or to taste

One lemon

Fresh parsley 

Wash the leeks well. Chop the leeks, carrots, celery, and potatoes and sauté them in a couple tablespoons of olive oil. While they cook, sort and wash the lentils. Add chopped garlic and saute for a moment with the smoked paprika and lentils. Add the broth and tomatoes, and simmer for about 45 minutes until everything is soft. (You may need to add a little water.)

Add up to a teaspoon of chilis in adobe sauce. (I would have added more but John thought it spicy enough.) Squeeze half a lemon over the soup, taste to see if it needs salt, and simmer a bit more.

Sprinkle with fresh parsley and serve with biscuits!

Lucy Burdette writes the Key West food critic mystery series including USA Today bestselling A CLUE IN THE CRUMBS. You can order that wherever books are sold. If you’re all caught up, try Lucy’s first women’s fiction title, THE INGREDIENTS OF HAPPINESS.

Also follow Lucy on Facebook, and sign up for her mailing list right here.  

USA TODAY BESTSELLING A Clue in the Crumbs, #13 in the Key West food critic mystery series, in stores now!

"Food lore, island delights, and mystery provide something for everyone."

—Kirkus Reviews

“But how many new ways can an author concoct for the protagonist to find a dead body? I needn’t have worried – and neither should fans. This Key West murder mystery has twists, turns – and cake.” –Cathy Salustri, The Gabber

Order the book wherever books are sold! 

Seafood Posole Soup #recipe @LucyBurdette

LUCY BURDETTE: One of the things that I overbought during the pandemic months (and please don’t get my husband started on this subject) was products from Rancho Gordo beans. I’ve mentioned this company before, as I love their products. And because these are heirloom products produced in small quantities, they sometimes run low and actually run out of many kinds of beans. So in order not to be caught short, I ended up with four large packages of dried hominy a.k.a. white corn posole. 

We had one of our first house guests since the pandemic arriving and I know she loves seafood. So I searched for a recipe that could use both hominy and seafood. This was the result, based on an earlier recipe from Epicurious. We all declared it delicious. You can certainly make the salsa yourself, but as I'm on a writing deadline, I cut corners a bit and found some fresh salsa at our local market. I think green tomatillo salsa would be heavenly too. Making hominy from scratch is a little more trouble than opening a can, but the results are head and shoulders better tasting. And no sodium compared to, shall we say, a lot!

Ingredients

1 cup dried white corn hominy

8 ounces of fresh salsa

8 ounces clam juice

2 cups chicken broth

One large onion

Two large or three small garlic cloves

1 pound scallops

1 pound shrimp

Cilantro to taste

The day before you plan to make the soup, soak the dried hominy for 6 to 8 hours and then simmer it for 1 to 2 hours until it is soft but not mushy. Drain and rinse. Refrigerate if you aren't using that same day.

Sauté the onion in a bit of olive oil, then add the chopped garlic and saute a bit longer. Add the salsa, the clam juice, and the broth, and simmer until combined. Stir in the hominy and continue to simmer. 

If the scallops are large, slice them in half. Peel and devein the shrimp. Drop all the seafood into the simmering broth and cook until everything is barely pink. Sprinkle the cilantro over the top and serve with a crusty loaf of bread. 

Lucy Burdette writes the Key West food critic mysteries. A SCONE OF CONTENTION will be out on August 10! The paperback edition of THE KEY LIME CRIME will be published on July 13. The Key Lime Crime has been chosen as the book club selection for June by the WLRN Sundial Book Club! Click here to join the Facebook discussion.