Paprika Beans & Buckwheat

This recipe for Paprika Beans & Buckwheat started as all good recipes do– with a strong desire to zhuzh up my regular pot of brothy beans. About every two weeks I like to make a huge vat of dried beans. Think your Rancho Gordo favorites, soaked overnight and then simmered slowly in aromatics. Normally I don’t stray from the same formula: beans, bay leaf, olive oil, onion, garlic, red pepper flakes, rosemary, sage and a parmesan rind if I’m lucky. Cover that with water and you’re golden. And the broth always comes out so good. I attribute that to over an hour of simmering, so I thought: what would happen if I used that same simmer time but swapped in some new ingredients to the formula? The goal was spicy, smokey and rich, which calls for paprika, even more red pepper flakes and tomato paste.

In this blog post, I’ll break down the anatomy of brothy beans, how to make a standard brothy bean, how to build and riff off of those, and then finally, these beans themselves. I know, I know, we are in for a lot of beans. But it’s my favorite affordable, easy, plant-based staple.

P.S. Did I mention this meal is plant-based and gluten-free all on its own? Weird flex, but I had to get it in there. Read on for more about these paprika beans, and how to make your own.

Let’s talk a bit about brothy beans

I love canned beans as much as the next girl. I’ve found they can be incredibly flavorful and incredibly convenient. But there is something both flavorful, nutritious and deeply satisfying about cooking your beans from dry.

The first reason I love making dried beans: the broth is insane. If you are like me (ahem, pescatarian), then you don’t taste chicken broth or beef broth nearly enough, and it can be a bummer to miss out on that depth of flavor that stocks and broths can bring. But bean broth tastes almost as thick and rich as the best slow-simmered bone broth. The magic happens when the starchiness of the beans leeks out into the broth as it simmers, making it thicker and carrying through all that salty, aromatic flavor that we cook along with the beans. It’s bean magic.

The second reason I love making dried beans: they will feed you for days. This recipe serves ten, but it’s ten big, healthy portions. Beans just give like that. Whenever I make my big vat of beans, it’s because I want something comforting for the week, that I can just dip into, mix-and-match, pair and build on. You can do that with canned beans, but the yield only goes so far. So I keep cooked beans in my fridge. They’re my ready-whenever meal.

Tips for making brothy beans

Brothy beans have a formula. Soak your beans, season your beans, simmer your beans and enjoy. When I started my brothy bean journey, there were a few things I wish I had known:

• The amount of time you soak your beans matters, like really matters. You can cook beans that have only been soaked a few hours, the thing is, you’ll need up to three hours to really get them cooked. And when you soak beans for 24 hours (let’s be honest, I sometimes flex up to 36), then you can have cooked beans in under 45 minutes. This also depends a ton on the size of your beans, and how old they are. Larger beans will take longer, and older beans will take longer. So even though dried beans are shelf-stable, I always try to use them within six months of purchase.
• You can freeze soaked beans! Okay, so you soaked your beans, but it’s the next day and you just don’t have time to cook them. Don’t worry about that, at all. Just drain your beans and freeze them! Once they are soaked, you can begin cooking them whenever, and the frozen beans will behave just the same. They can keep in your freezer for up to 3 months.
• You can make beans just as beans, or turn them into something else entirely. Like this recipe! We turn beans into a stew here, which is like taking a classic brothy bean recipe up a step. You start riffing on your beans 20 minutes before they are done, and that can mean adding vegetables, pasta, grains, etc. to bulk them up. I don’t always do this, but it’s a great way to make a ton of food in an affordable way.

The changes in these paprika beans and buckwheat

Like we talked about above, this takes a classic bean formula and adds sun-dried tomatoes, paprika, squash and buckwheat to turn it into a recipe all on its own. This recipe is smokey, rich and savory, making it one of the most comforting bean recipes that I’ve made to date. The squash adds a bit of nuttiness to the broth, while the sun-dried tomatoes balance it with slight acidity and depth of flavor. Plus, the buckwheat adds the perfect texture to this broth and makes it even more filling. This recipe is just so perfect for a night in after a long, cold day.

The ingredients for these brothy beans

This recipe comes together in one pot (other than soaking the beans beforehand!) and will make your house smell amazing. The simmer time is important here because it allows all of those rich flavors to meld together, resulting in the most flavorful, addicting broth. Here’s what you’ll need for this recipe:

• 1 pound bag of dried beans of choice, I like large lima beans
• 1 (7-ounce) jar sun-dried tomatoes, packed in oil
• 1/3 cup tomato paste
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
• Diamond Crystal kosher salt
• 1 medium red onion, peeled and quartered
• 1 medium garlic head, halved
• 2 sprigs rosemary
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1 medium acorn squash, cored and cubed into 1-inch pieces
• 1 1/2 cups buckwheat
• 1/4 cup fresh parsley, for serving

Starting this paprika beans recipe

This is the kind of recipe that doesn’t need a whole lot of attention because the ingredients do all the heavy lifting for you. It’s one of the simplest ways to get an incredible bowl of comfort.

• Add the beans to the large dutch oven or pot. Cover with at least two inches of water (if you don’t have enough room to cover by two inches, you’ll need a bigger pot). Soak the beans for at least six hours, up to 24.
• When the beans are finished soaking, drain them and empty the pot.
• Set the pot over medium heat. Pour in all the oil from the sun-dried tomato jar, but don’t add the tomatoes. Add in the tomato paste, red pepper flakes, paprika, and a tablespoon of kosher salt. Stir into a paste and cook for 1-2 minutes, or until the tomato paste is a shade darker.
• Add the beans back into the pot. Stir to coat them in the tomato paste. Add the onion, garlic, and rosemary on top. Add in the sun-dried tomatoes. Crack in a liberal amount of black pepper. Pour in 10 cups of water. Bring this to a simmer and cover. Simmer for 40-45 minutes, or until the beans begin to look finished.

Adding the squash and buckwheat to these brothy beans

By the time beans have simmered for about 45 minutes, it’s time to add the squash, then the buckwheat. This is what brings this recipe up a notch! The squash and buckwheat pull this whole dish together.

• When the beans taste almost finished, but still have a touch of bite to them, add in the squash. Simmer for an additional 15 minutes.
• Remove the rosemary sprig, garlic halves and any undesirable onion pieces. Add in the buckwheat. Simmer for another 10-15 minutes, or until the buckwheat tastes finished.
• Taste the broth and add up to an additional tablespoon of salt to taste.
• This will make ten servings, so portion as you need it! Top with chopped fresh parsley as garnish.

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