Puerto Rican Pink Beans with Olives & Avocado

KRI September 2019 Recipe of the Month

Taken from From Vegetables, With Love: Recipes and Tales from a Yogi’s Kitchen
(Revised and Expanded New Edition) by Siri-Ved Kaur Khalsa

Puerto Rican Pink Beans with Olives & Avocado

• 3 cups pink beans
• 1 potato, peeled and chopped
• Olive oil
• 1 onion, diced
• ¾ teaspoon black pepper
• 1 jalapeño pepper, diced
• 8 mushrooms, chopped
• 2 teaspoons salt or ½ cup Bragg Liquid Aminos
• 1½ cups tomato sauce
• 1 tablespoon oregano
• 2½ tablespoons basil
• 1 cup chopped roasted green chiles
• 1 medium can pitted green olives
• ½ cup butter
• 6 cups cooked rice
• 4 ripe, firm avocados

Clean beans and soak overnight or for at least 8 hours in 3 quarts of water. Drain off water and discard. Put beans in a 6-quart pot or pressure cooker and add enough fresh water to cover the beans by at least 1 inch. Bring water to a boil. Add potatoes and 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Cook uncovered, over a medium-high flame until soft (about 1½ hours) or a pressure cooker under high pressure for 12 minutes. When beans are soft, drain and reserve liquid. Heat ¼ cup olive oil in a large sauté pan or sauce pot over a medium flame. Sauté onion about 8 minutes until browned. Add pepper, jalapeño, and mushrooms. Sauté until all are soft, adding small amounts of water as necessary to prevent scorching. Add salt and tomato sauce. Bring to a boil and add oregano, basil, chopped long green chiles, and olives. Simmer on medium-low heat for 15 minutes. Add beans to sauce and add as much bean liquid as necessary to make a saucy consistency (should not be thick). Add butter and cook for 30 minutes on low heat, stirring occasionally. Serve over rice, garnished with slices or chunks of avocado.

Yield: 6 servings

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