Ingredients

• 1 pound dried black beans, picked through

• Water

• 1 large onion, diced

• 6 cloves garlic, minced

• 1 or 2 jalapeños, seeds and membranes removed and diced

• 2 bay leaves

• 2 tablespoons cumin

• 1 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste

• 8 cups vegetable or chicken broth for stovetop, or 4 cups broth or water for Instant Pot

Instructions

For Stovetop:

1. Place black beans in a large stock pot and cover with at least two inches of water. Let soak overnight. Or, for a quick soak, bring stockpot to a boil, boil hard for one minute, then remove from heat, cover, and let soak for an hour.

2. Drain and rinse the soaked beans. Return them to the pot. Add in all the remaining ingredients.

3. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer until the beans are tender. This will depend a lot on the age of your beans. Fresher beans will be ready in 45-60 minutes, older beans might take 2-3 hours. Your best bet is to start tasting around the 45 minute mark.

4. Taste for seasoning, adding more salt if necessary, then remove beans using slotted spoon. Eat immediately, or store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.

For Instant Pot

1. Combine 1 pound of dried beans with 4 cups broth in the Instant Pot, plus the onion, garlic, jalapenos, bay leaves, cumin, and salt.

2. Seal and set to manual, high pressure for 35 minutes.

3. When the cooking time is up, let the pressure release naturally for 20 minutes.

4. Release the pressure and stir the beans. Eat immediately, or store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.

Recipe by Cassie Johnston