Pinto Bean Soup Over Rice

Ingredients:

2 cups pinto beans
3 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
2 Tbsp. sunflower-seed or vegetable oil
3 epazote sprigs, if available, or 1 tsp. dried
2 tsp. dried oregano, preferably Mexican
2 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. ground coriander
3 New Mexican dried red chile pods, stems, seeds, and veins removed
sea salt
3 tablespoons masa harina
ground red chile
2 cups cooked white or brown rice
1 cup grated Cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese
2 Tbsp. slivered scallions
3 Tbsp. chopped cilantro
sour cream

Instructions:

Sort through the beans and give them a rinse. Set the rinsed beans aside while you chop the onions and garlic.

Heat the oil in a pressure cooker and add the onions, garlic, epazote, oregano, cumin, coriander and dried New Mexican chiles. Give a stir, and then add the beans along with 3 quarts of water and 1-1/2 tsp. of salt. Fasten the lid and bring the pressure to high. Cook, maintaining the pressure for 30 minutes and release the pressure quickly.

Puree 2 cups of the beans and any large pieces of chile until smooth and return them to the pot. Whisk in the masa harina and simmer for another 10 minutes. Taste for salt and heat, adding more salt or ground chile as desired. The texture should be soupy yet punctuated with beans.

Ladle the beans and their liquid over a mound of rice, then sprinkle on the cheese, scallion, and cilantro, ending with a dollop of sour cream.

Recipe by Deborah Madison,from Vegetable Soups from Deborah Madisons Kitchen, (Broadway Books, 2006).