My (embarrassingly large) supply of Rancho Gordo beans continues to pay dividends…when I actually cook them, which is more rare than I'd like to admit. I recently opened up their cookbook for inspiration, and settled on their Cauliflower with Cassoulet Beans and Capers recipe because I wanted to eat some of their great alubia white beans.
I soaked 1/2 cup of alubia white beans overnight, and then cooked them in the Instant Pot for 8 minutes high pressure with a natural release. Because the beans weren't uniformly cooked through, I used a tip from the Rancho Gordo cookbook to finish the beans. I salted the beans in the Instant Pot, turned on the high saute setting, and cooked for maybe 5 – 10 minutes longer until the beans were uniformly creamy. I will use this technique a lot moving forward because I do think it was the perfect way to ensure great finished beans. The 1/2 cup of dried beans resulted in slightly less than 1.5 cups of cooked beans.
For the Jerez sherry vinegar, which I didn't have on hand and I couldn't find in our local store, I substituted slightly more than half rice vinegar and champagne vinegar. This resulted in a wonderful tanginess, complimented with the briny capers, which was quite sharp when the dish was warm and softened as the dish cooled.
This was a creamy, tangy, slightly sweet dish with lots of different textures from the cooked cauliflower, squishy white beans, and tighter capers. It was a great main course for 2 hungry people, and easily could be a side dish for 4 – 8, depending on the number of other sides served. It also is a great dish to make early on in dinner prep because you can serve it at room temperature. I will be making it again.
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