I decided to make soup with a half pound of the painted pony beans I harvested and save the rest as seeds for planting in the future. You can read about harvesting painted pony beans from a square foot garden.
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Painted Pony Bean Soup Recipe
The actual recipe I used is based on a navy bean soup recipe.
The beans plump up after soaking. They retain their distinctive color even in the finished soup.
Ingredient List
- 1/2 pound of dried painted pony beans
- Ham slice from R Family Farm
- Purple carrots from the farmer’s market (nice to have in almost any soup)
- 1 Ailsa Craig onion from the farmer’s market (onions are a must)
- Bell peppers from my garden (included because I like them)
- 3-4 Bay leaves (a necessity in any soup)
- 1 clove of garlic from the farmer’s market, minced (I like to add one clove)
- 1 quart of chicken stock
- 1 pint of water to bring liquid to 1.5 quarts
(I would have thrown in some celery but did not have any on hand.)
Preparation
Soak the dry beans over night. The next morning combine them with the quart of chicken stock in a slow cooker. Then chop up all vegetables and add them in. Next dice the ham steak and add it to the slow cooker. Top off with a pint of water.
Simmer All Day
Cook on low heat as long as you can stand it. This soup smelled good almost immediately and it was a form of slow torture to smell it all day as it simmered in the slow cooker. Check on it once in awhile. The soup is done when the beans are soft. I cooked these on low for about eight hours.
Changes For Next Time
The soup would have been better if it was creamier. To achieve this, I would use only the chicken stock and not add extra water.
Conclusion
These beans tasted great and made a hearty soup. I think the painted pony beans would also be good in chilli in combination with red kidney beans.
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