Aromatics for Beans

Take your beans to the next level with the addition of aromatic vegetables and herbs. Even if you plan to use beans in a recipe, cooking them with aromatics first means you’ll start with beans that have a rich, robust essence rather than flavor that is flat. Whether you’re cooking the beans in a slow-cooker, pressure cooker, or on the stove, add a whole, quartered onion, a few cloves of garlic, and a sprig or two of fresh herbs like rosemary, thyme or a bay leaf. When the beans are done, fish the vegetables and herbs out; they’ve already done their job in flavoring the beans and their broth. To make it easier, tie the herbs with kitchen string or stuff then into a tea infuser. You can also tie the vegetables and herbs into a cheesecloth bag and then remove everything at once.