Fermented Bean Paste

This was my second attempt at lacto-fermentation (the first being yogurt)... fermented bean paste. This comes from Nourishing Traditions - I've had the corner of the page turned down as a recipe to try some day since I bought the book... but I never made it. I had totally forgotten about it, actually. Until my SIL made some using pinto beans last month. I had to wait until I strained some yogurt to get whey first, though. I did that a couple of weeks ago... but just realized I haven't posted about that yet... oops! I'll post about that soon. Anyway, so once I had my whey, I was ready to give it a go. I'm glad I did. I made a half-recipe to start with. I was nervous to try it... I definitely had to build myself up for it... but I tried it. But you know what? It was quite good! I'd like to try it with other beans sometime. You can use this as a condiment and you can use it in place of refried beans (which is basically how I intend to use it mostly).

(This is a before picture. I'll try to remember to snap an after picture one of these days...)

Fermented Bean Paste

3 cups beans, cooked and drained
1 onion, peeled and coursely chopped
3 cloves garlic, peeled
1 Tbsp. sea salt
4 Tbsp. whey

Soak the beans for 24 hours. Stir in 2 Tablespoons whey or lemon juice when soaking black beans... if you use other beans, you just need water. Then cook your beans. I've found the easiest way is to use the crockpot. Just cover them by a couple of inches of water and cook on low for 6-8 hours or until they are done.

Place the onion and garlic in food processor and process until well chopped. Add remaining ingredients and process until smooth. Place in quart-sized wide-mouth jar, leaving 1 inch of space between the top of the beans and the top of the jar. Cover tightly and leave at room temp for about 3 days before transferring to the refrigerator. It might take less time if your house is hot or longer if it's cold. Serve as a dip with pita chips or tortilla chips.

Makes 1 quart.