many weekends last summer did i stretch with the solar and cleanse the yawning from my eyes to make it downtown for the farmer’s market. ironic in all fashions, my place of residence has the word ‘city’ in it – but every new day that advances reminds me that this is but an extremely small, very spread out town. we are close to the exact geographical center of the country. if you leave us one way you hit the prairie and hope it doesn’t lightning. if you decide to escape the other way, you’re granted the magnetic anomaly of the black hills. if you grew up here, you either stay and lay your roots, or flee to colorado. but while my traveled self has noisily compared the slowness of town to every other place in the country, what i have noticed from living here is the massive beating heart that exists at the center.
and while our farmer’s market is a blink, it’s also modest and dedicated to creating some form of connection between the surrounding agriculture and the people who wish to support it. it was my pleasure last year to become acquainted with a woman by the name of Zita, and it was quite effortlessly that i plunged headfirst into her enthusiasm and knowledge about gourds, squash, and all manners of beans. always this level of passion excites me – and one tobacco gourd (after it hollows out you can craft it into a bowl), one pink banana squash, and one bag of golden jacob’s cattle bean later – i was basking in bliss.
the beans have been eyeing me from the pantry since the inception of winter. they’ve patiently sat through many hearty meals, with other beans, other pulses, other grains. their cousin, the original and crimson jacob’s cattle, has a bit of a different feel – and as many things do come to me, in the earliest hours of a sleepless morning, i felt it was time to celebrate. & a happy weekend to you.
- refried beans:
- 1 cup dried black/kidney/beans of choice
- 3 cloves garlic, chopped
- ½ yellow onion, chopped loosely
- 1 tsp mexican oregano
- 3 tbl netural vegetable oil (i love grapeseed)
- ½ yellow onion, diced
- stems from 1 bunch of cilantro, finely chopped
- curtido slaw:
- ¼ small head red cabbage, finely shredded
- 1 bunch of red chard, stalks removed and sliced thin
- 1 small parsnip, peeled and finely grated
- 1 medium red onion, finely sliced
- 1-2 cups water
- ½ cup red wine vinegar
- pupusas;
- 2½ cups masa harina
- ½ tsp cumin
- ¼ tsp cayenne
- 1½ cups water (more or less as needed)
- 8 oz smoked mozzarella, grated
- for the refried beans: cover beans with water and soak 8 hours-overnight. in a large pot cover beans by at least 2 inches of cool water. add garlic, onion and oregano. bring beans to a boil, and reduce to a simmer for 1-2 hours until tender when squeezed. maintain water level during cooking process if the beans absorb.
- discard garlic and onion. reserve bean cooking water. in a large skillet heat grapeseed oil. stir in diced onion and cilantro stems and cook until translucent, 7-10 minutes. add beans and cook 3 minutes to heat. add 1 cup of reserved bean water and, with the back of a heavy wooden spoon or potato masher, mash the beans into the desired texture. heat on medium until desired consistency is achieved, adding more water if necessary.
- for the curtido slaw: in a large bowl combine red cabbage, red chard stalks, parsnip, and red onion. add water and vinegar. press vegetables into liquid and refrigerate for at least an hour, up to three days.
- form the masa dough into around 15 2 oz balls. if the dough is sticky, oil fingertips. flatten each ball, moving it between one palm to the other, until you're a little bit bigger than your palm - about 4 inches wide. lightly stuff the center of the pupusa with beans and cheese, and fold the edges upward and press, as to create a sort of dumpling. carefully flatten the pupusa back out into a disc, set aside, and repeat until all the dough is stuffed.
- add 1-2 tbl neutral high-heat oil to a non-stick pan and heat. working in batches (i fit about 3-4 in my cast iron), cook the pupusas until golden brown on one side, about 4 minutes, flip, and do the same for the next.
- serve immediately, or keep warm while finishing in a low heated oven. serve pupusas with slaw and cilantro.
Lovely blog. This recipe looks interesting, I’m going to try it. Happy weekend to you.
Thank you Becky, it means so much to me. I do hope you enjoy the recipe – the pupusas are infinitely flexible, so they lend themselves well to whatever you have on hand. Happy weekend.
I have never seen golden Jacob’s cattle beans -they are beautiful! We grow the traditional red & white ones. Love your writing and recipes!
Aren’t they, though? I love the red ones too, but the golden ones definitely seemed so special to me when I initially found them. – – and thank you so much. happy weekend, love you.
Beautiful, Danielle! Your photos are stunning as always <3
Thank you dearly Sarah, I hope your weekend has treated you well! xo
I’ve never seen Jacob’s cattle beans – they are stunning! I so love your description of your town, your imagery is always so beautiful. Hope you are having a great weekend, Danielle!
Thank you Tessa, and you too. The weather has definitely been a bit flirtatious lately, hints of spring around every corner. Good signs for a heavy winter heart. ♥
i know i would talk for the hours to the woman who has vast knowledge of gourds and beans too.
what a treasure, these golden jacobs cattle legumes! i’ve had my mind on pupusas since finding a little stand in belize that made them every day from 11am till they sold out, which was quite quickly.
thank you for your lovely words. as always, they were enchanging to read. xo
amanda, i had you in mind when i was reminiscing about the squash lady. 😉 – – thank you so much for your presence and lovely words – these were so damn fun to make at home, i’m already considering the next time. i can only imagine the excellence of the ones from belize. xo