We keep hearing that beans are among the most versatile foods you can eat. It's true--you can make all sorts of things from beans. I've seen a recipe for bread made with baked beans as a major ingredient (maybe I'll dig that up and post it here in the future). One of the most unusual uses for beans, however, is the one we'll talk about today. Pinto Bean Pie.
Pinto Bean Pie? I kid you not; you can make an excellent, tasty pie from pinto beans. It's often called Mock Pecan Pie, because it's a lot like a traditional pecan pie in consistency, look, and taste. If you're up for a little culinary adventure, this can be a lot of fun.
Incidentally, both here and over on my other bean website, the Bean Bible (http://www.beanbible.com), I get fairly frequent requests for "that funny pie that you can make out of beans." To keep from answering all those questions, let's put the recipe here on the site for all to see.
I've seen at least a half-dozen different (but similar) recipes for this pie. One of the easiest and most likely to be fairly reliable is from the Idaho Bean Commission (Check out their site for general bean info at http://www2.state.id.us/bean/.)
- 1 heaping cup mashed pinto beans (Note: 1 1/2 cups cooked beans equals about 1 cup, mashed)
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup butter
- 2 eggs, beaten
- 1 9-inch unbaked pie shell
Blend sugars, eggs, and butter until creamy. Add the mashed beans and blend thoroughly.
Pour into a 9-inch unbaked pie shell. Bake at 375 degrees F for 20 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 degrees F and bake for an additional 25 minutes or until a knife inserted into the pie comes out clean.
These pies taste a lot like pecan pie. Serve them with whipped cream, with your favorite non-dairy whipped topping, or--better yet--with a scoop of ice cream.
It's a lot of fun to serve this pie to guests without explaining what it is. Tell 'em when they've finished that they've been eating beans.
This next one, entitled simply "Mock Pecan Pie 1," uses a few more ingredients to fine-tune the taste, then tops the pie with pecans. Perhaps this version will appeal to you a little more than ultra-simple Idaho Bean Commission version.
The next one after that, "Mock Pecan Pie 2," is also simple but adds pecans.
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