Fancy Pork and Beans

Farmer's markets are dangerous! I was at U St this past weekend, and the overpriced containers of butter beans beckoned. Googling once I got home, I came across a recipe from the New York Times. But, as I don't have a subscription to Times cooking (hopefully soon!), I had to try to recreate it based on the description, like a cooking version of the Great British Baking Show technical challenge. With some help from my better half, I managed to cook something that, while perhaps not exactly the original concept, was still very delicious.

I started out boiling 10 oz of butterbeans with a guajillo and an ancho chile, 1/8 cup of onions, and a bay leaf. I cooked it for 30 minutes, though given the amount it spends simmering with the meat later, it might be better to just simmer for 20 minutes. With about 10 minutes to go on the beans, one tablespoon of butter went into the cast iron pan -- once melted, it was joined by four cloves of garlic and a scant 1/4 cup of diced onion. Once the garlic was browning and the onion softened, 10 oz of pancetta was added, along with a mixture of cinnamon, coriander, and cumin. Meanwhile, I cut open two chorizo sausages, and after the pancetta had browned, added that in.

The chorizo took several minutes to cook up, and once it was cooked, I added four eggs, stirring occasionally until the eggs were mostly set. At that point, I added the beans with the water, but without the bay leaves or the dried peppers. The mixture simmered until the water reduced sufficiently. I added some sour cream and lime juice to brighten it up at the end.