Never Been to Peru Potato and Bean Stew

In the bookstore the other day I could hardly contain my excitement.  I found a used copy of Mollie Katzen’s 2013 cookbook The Heart of the Plate for six dollars!  Middle and Early Boomers might remember  her Moosewood cookbook.  I still have a copy of that cookbook in my collection.  There are a few recipes from The Heart of the Plate I want to try.  The first one was Peruvian Potato-Bean Stew.  But immediately I saw a problem.

There are over 4,000 edible varieties of potato, mostly found in the Andes of South America.!

“If you can’t get blue potatoes…”

I’m not in Peru.  4000 to pick from and the recipe calls for the blue one.  Since I wasn’t going to find blue potatoes I figured I might as well just mess with the rest of the recipe too.  So here’s my version inspired by Mollie.

Adapted from The Heart of Plate by Mollie Katzen

• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 large sweet onion, diced
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground red chili
• 1 teaspoon Mexican oregano
• 1/2 large red bell pepper, diced
• 2 large cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 4 medium Yukon Gold potatoes, 1/2 inch dice
• 3 cups cooked Mayocabo beans with cooking liquid
• 15-ounce can diced tomatoes with roasted garlic and onion
• freshly squeezed lime juice
• salt and pepper to taste

1. Heat a Dutch oven over medium heat.
2. Add oil, onions, chili powder, ground chili, oregano and cumin .  Gently saute for 5 minutes.
3. Add the bell pepper,  garlic, and salt.  Saute for another 5 minutes.
4. Add the potatoes.. Cover, reduce heat to low, and cook for 5 minutes. Add 1/2 cup of the bean cooking liquid, canned tomatoes, cover again, and cook until potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes.
5. Add the beans, reduce heat to low and simmer until beans are warmed through.
6. Season individual servings with lime juice, salt and pepper to taste.
7. Yum

Random Thoughts

If you like chili you’ll like this recipe.  It’s basically a potato and bean chili, no meat.  If you cannot find Mayocabo beans use pintos.  It won’t taste the same but will still be excellent, kind of like using yellow potatoes instead of the blue ones.  Pinto beans will hold their shape better whereas the Mayocabo is creamier and tends to fall apart with prolonged cooking.

For the beans I used a pound dried, rinsed multiple times and soaked overnight.  The next day I tossed the beans into a pot, added water to one inch above the beans with about a teaspoon each of cumin, Mexican oregano, garlic powder and a bay leaf.