My turn: Red bean recipe will have you wanting more

Joe Blair, a life-long Portales resident and World War II veteran, told me you can’t have just one bowl of his red beans.

Here’s how Joe does it:

First, he doesn’t believe in soaking the beans.

Put 2 cups of beans in a pressure cooker with a 2-inch chunk of salt pork. Add enough water to keep the beans covered and pressure cook for an hour.

De-pressure and drain.

“Now’s when you add the good stuff,” Joe said.

Add six to eight 2-inch-long dried red peppers, six to eight dried chile petines — round peppers the size of an English pea — and three or four cloves of garlic. If you can’t find the chile petines, substitute chile powder to taste.

“And be sure you’ve got plenty of water to make plenty of juice,” Joe said.

He recommends 2 inches of water above the beans.

Throw away the salt pork and simmer the beans for an hour. Add three or four spoonfuls of chile powder.

“And when you get all that done, they’re hot, but you can’t just stop with one bowl, it’s so good,” Joe said.

You can serve the beans over cornbread, he said.