Snowcap Beans and Chicken Adovada

In my further exploration of interesting beans, today's post features Snowcap Beans from Rancho Gordo cooked in the style of carne adovada from New Mexico. Rather than making it with beef, which we rarely eat, I made it with bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs.

Snowcap Beans and Chicken Adovada

A word on nomenclature: for you Spanish speakers, the pork dish marinated and cooked en adobo is called carne adobada, "marinated" in Spanish. Because the adobo/marinade/sauce is largely red chile, it can also be called enchilada ("covered in chile"). In New Mexico north of the border, however, the spelling has differed slightly (more along the lines of how some people pronounce adobada) to carne adovada. I use the New Mexican spelling to indicate that I'm making an American dish versus a Mexican one which typically features more spices such as cinnamon and allspice.

Snowcap Beans

Snowcap beans are new to me; I bought them because I have no idea what they are like and I like their great looks. The name snowcap is descriptive: they are large cannellini-sized kidney-shaped tan beans with chestnut stripes reminiscent of Borlotti or Bird Egg beans, the whole draped with a seemingly hand-painted blob of white. In short, they're beautiful beans.

After Overnight Soak in Salted Water; Ready for Par-Cooking

The first steps with these beans, like all dried beans that I cook, is to soak them overnight in lightly salted water and then to par-cook them until they are tender. As a rule of thumb, smaller beans will take an hour of simmering to partially cook, while the largest beans can take up to two hours. 

Browning the Chicken

Once the beans are nearing ready, I start by browning the chicken and then removing it to my slow cooker. After draining off any excess schmaltz (chicken fat), I start cooking my mirepoix of onions, poblanos, cilantro stems, and garlic in the same pan in which I cooked the chicken. 

When these vegetables were cooked, I added them to the slow cooker with the chicken and the now-cooked beans and their liquid. I added a half a cup of so of ground Chimayo chile to the pot along with a couple tablespoons of Sherry vinegar (vinegar being a key component of adovada), some Mexican oregano, and some salt. 

Slow Cooker Loaded and Ready to Cook

I put the slow cooker on low for several hours while Ann and I went out to the local pub for beers with friends. When we returned, lubricated and ready to eat, the aromas coming off the slow cooker were amazing. The verdict on the Snowcap beans is that they are large, plenty creamy, and delicious enough to want to reorder time and again.