During part of my early childhood I lived with my Granny. I remember having many meals of pinto beans and cornbread. I don't think of this meal as soup, although you can certainly characterize
it as a bowl of soup; nor do I think of pinto beans as a side dish, even though they would certainly lend themselves as a side dish to many meals. For me, the dish is simply pinto beans and cornbread.
Granny's Pinto Beans and Cornbread
Ingredients:
1 pound dry pinto beans
4 quarts water (divided)
1 bottle beer
1 lb ham chunks or country ham trimmings
1 medium onion, chopped
salt & pepper
Directions:
Look beans over and remove any broken or funny looking ones along with any rocks you find. Rinse beans in cold water then place beans into a large pot and cover with about 2 quarts water. Cover pot and over high heat, bring beans to a full rolling boil. Boil for 2 minutes, then turn off heat and let sit for 2 hours.
Drain beans and place into slow cooker. Chop ham into smaller pieces. Add ham and onion, then pour in beer and remaining water. Cover and cook on LOW for 8-10 hours or until a bean can be easily smashed against the side. While cooking, look through lid and add more hot water (about a cup at a time) as needed to prevent beans from cooking dry. To thicken, using a spatula, smash some beans against the side of the slow cooker and stir smashed beans into the rest - after 10 minutes, mixture will have thickened up some. Season with salt/pepper to taste.
Note: Never add salt before beans have mostly cooked as it will prevent them from getting soft.
Serve with your favorite cornbread or use the recipe below.
Granny's Cornbread
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups cornmeal
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
2 eggs, room temperature
1 1/2 cups buttermilk, room temperature (or suitable substitution)
Directions:
Preheat oven to 400°F. Place iron skillet or cornbread pan into oven to heat.
Measure dry ingredients into a bowl and stir to combine.
In a separate container, lightly beat eggs and add buttermilk, stirring to combine.
Pour buttermilk/egg mixture into dry ingredients and stir until blended (mixture is moist and looks uniform).
Pull pan out of oven, melt 1 Tbsp butter and 1 Tbsp oil in hot skillet. Sprinkle with a small amount of cornmeal. Pour batter into skillet - it should sizzle slightly.
Pop skillet back into oven and bake for 25-30 minutes or until browned some on top.
Remove from oven and invert onto a plate. Cut into 8 wedges and serve with cooked beans or butter.
