BUBBLING RED BEAN PASTE

Some of personal favorite beans from Cayuga Pure Organics are Red Merlot Beans; they are great in many savory dishes, but also as a confection.  I first started doing sweet bean paste with the glorious Adzuki Bean (the most common bean used in Japanese desserts) from CPO, but soon decided to apply this recipe to the mighty Red Merlot Bean; a bean that deserves some sweet acknowledgement.

Cayuga Pure Organics Red Merlot Beans:  You should get up close and personal with your food!

Someone spilled the beans!  Since I'm in NYS, it's only logical to use local beans and local maple syrup!

That's about 8oz (or 1 heaping cup)...time to soak for 3-4 hours!

8oz of red beans and 2qts water; bubbling away!

Getting thick and creamy (about 45 minutes of simmering)...now add some sea salt and bubble away for another 15-20 minutes.

Now give those red beans a maple syrup boost, bubble away for another 15 minutes!

A little mashing action is necessary to complete the transformation into...

SYRUPY RED BEAN BLISS!

Sweet Red Merlot Bean Paste By Hans Butler

Ingredients ½ # CPO Red Merlot Beans 2qts water 1tsp sea salt ¾ cup maple syrup

Directions Soak red beans 3-4 hours, rinse and cover with about 2qts of water, simmer for about 45 minutes and then add the salt and stir well; it’s okay to crush the beans, this is what you’re going for. Make sure to turn the heat down a little lower. At this point, the mixture will be very thick and pulling away from the pan when you stir.  It will be a very dark and rich color of red with an smell reminiscent of vanilla beans. This is when you add the sweetener.  Then turn the heat down to the lowest possible setting and stir and crush mixture until sweetener is fully incorporated.  If the mixture is too thick (dry looking) just add some more water(a couple tablespoons at a time) and bring to a simmer; it will thicken a lot more when cooled too, so keep it somewhat fluid.  Remove from heat, cool to room temperature, and refrigerate. Makes about 1quart