This recipe is 100% my own! It’s not super sweet like canned beans, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t sweet at all. You will find that the combination of molasses plus onion plus slow cooking gives these beans a complex mix of spice and sweet that’s flavorful and satisfying to the extreme. It’s guaranteed to warm your bones, whether you’re indoors or out.

2 medium potatoes, washed and diced
1 large onion, sliced thinly
1 Tbsp. olive oil
2 Tbsp. blackstrap molasses
1/2 c. dry garbanzo beans
1/2 c. dry adzuki beans (small, dark red beans).  If you can’t find adzukis, increase the garbanzos to 3/4 cup
1/2 c. red lentils, dry
6-8 small tomatoes (like Roma) or 3 very large tomatoes
4 c. water
1 tsp. fresh ground black pepper
salt to taste

Add all the ingredients to a crockpot, and turn it on low. Leave for 8-10 hours, and that’s it! Magic in a pot. Add more salt and pepper if desired, allow to sit a few minutes, and ladle into bowls along with thick slices of crusty bread or whole-grain crackers or corn bread or simple dressed greens or whatever else you desire.

If you would rather use a covered soup pot, increase the liquid to 6 cups of water, and place (covered) in the oven at 250 degrees. Leave it to cook for 8 hours, all day. Check the contents of the pot about 2 hours after it starts cooking, and then once more after 4-6 hours. If the beans are not completely covered, and they look like they’re getting too dry, add 2 more cups of very hot water, and stir. It should be wet, but not watery. Feel free to add more water as necessary.

Save this recipe for Super Bowl Sunday.

Serves 6-8.