What’s Cooking in Kelli’s Kitchen

This last week was a doozy. Four days after returning from a week-long trip to Atlanta, I was packing my bags for two action-packed days in Vegas. I spent Friday in the kitchen, cheffing for the Churchill Arts Council. A new side hustle preparing food for touring musicians. On Saturday, I played in the Regan Golf Tournament before high-tailing it over to Oats Park for dinner service before the Lucky Chops show. I need another weekend to recover from my weekend. Despite sore muscles, it has been a minute since I swung my clubs, and being a little tired, it was a blast. 

Unsurprisingly, I talked a lot about beans this weekend. First, I found a fourth member of the Rancho Gordo Bean Club. It is statistically unlikely that there would be four of us in the club as there are two Kelli (Kelly) Kelly’s in our community, but both are true. Second, I featured two varieties of Rancho Gordo legumes in the Lucky Chops menu: Coconut Midnight Black Beans with Cardamom Rice and RG Garbanzos in hummus. Neither dish was particularly hard to make, and both were delicious and stand-out. I hope you will give each a try. 

Coconut Black Beans 

Ingredients 

½ lb Midnight Black Beans cooked until soft or 2 (15-oz) cans black beans 

2 T Coconut oil 

1 t Cumin 

1 t Coriander 

3 T Grated ginger 

1 can Full-fat coconut milk 

Salt and black pepper 

1 ea Lime, zest, and juice 

Cilantro, chopped 

Directions 

1. If using canned black beans, rinse one can and set aside. In a large saucepan, heat the coconut oil over medium heat. Add cumin, coriander, and half of the ginger and cook until fragrant, stirring constantly. Add the rinsed can of beans, followed by the unrinsed/undrained second can of beans. If you have cooked the beans yourself, add all the beans with some of the cooking liquid. Add the coconut milk and season with salt and pepper.

1. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until the beans are soft and the mixture is flavorful. Smash some of the beans with the back of the spoon for thicker beans. 
2. Turn off the heat and stir in the rest of the ginger. Adjust seasoning to taste with salt and pepper. Stir in the lime zest and add the juice a little at a time until the beans taste bright. Garnish with chopped cilantro and serve over rice. 

Hummus from Scratch

Ingredients: 

½ lb Dried garbanzo beans or two (15-oz) cans rinsed well 

3 Bay leaves 

1 t Baking soda 

6 T Tahini 

3 clove Garlic, chopped 

1 Lemon, juiced 

1 t Cumin 

1 t Smoked paprika 

Directions 

1. If using canned beans, skip to step 2. In a large pot, cover the garbanzo beans with 2” of water and bring to a boil for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to a gentle simmer, add bay leaves and baking soda, and cook until tender, adding more water as necessary to keep the beans submerged. Strain. 
2. Set aside about a ¼ c of whole garbanzos for serving. In a food processor, add the rest of the beans, tahini, lemon, garlic, cumin, smoked paprika, and salt. Process until smooth. Taste and adjust the salt, tahini, lemon, and spices to your liking. 
3. Transfer hummus into a bowl and draw a pattern with your (clean) finger into the top. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with more smoked paprika and the reserved whole garbanzo beans. Eat with raw vegetables or pita bread.