Ingredients:
- 1 (1-pound) package Camellia Brand Pinto Beans
- 1 large smoked ham hock
- 1 large yellow onion, finely chopped
- 2 large cloves garlic, minced
- 2 dried red chile peppers, or ¼ teaspoon red chile flakes
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 6 cups water or chicken broth
- 1 bunch green onions, chopped
Directions:
- Rinse and sort pinto beans.
- Add ham hock & beans to Instant Pot with onion, garlic, chiles, salt, pepper, and water or broth. Twist to lock the lid, and turn the valve to sealing.
- Cook at high pressure 40 minutes, and then let the pressure release naturally for 20 minutes.
- Turn the valve to venting. Unlock lid, and remove ham hocks with tongs. Discard skin, bones and cartilage. Chop or shred ham and stir back into beans.
- If desired, to make beans creamier, put a ladle or two into a small bowl, and mash with a potato masher or fork. Stir back into the pot. Serve sprinkled with green onions.
Instant Pot Pinto Beans Cooking Tips:
- Refrigerate beans overnight. The next day, the liquid will have thickened, and fat can be removed from the surface.
- Reheat beans by the bowlful in the microwave, or in a saucepan on top of the stove over medium heat until steaming.
- Freezes well.
Recipe adapted from the stovetop version featured in the cookbook Field Peas to Foie Gras: Southern Recipes with a French Accent by Jennifer Hill Booker, photography by Deborah Whitlaw Llewellyn (Pelican Publishing, 2014).