Bolita Beans with Red Wine, Smoked Paprika and Jalapeño

Bolita Beans simmered in red wine, smoked paprika, sweet bell pepper and garnished with crisp rings of fresh jalapeno. A delicious side dish for a Mexican Dinner.

Out of sheer curiosity I purchased a package of Bolita Beans at LuLu’s Market in Brighton. Once home with my mysterious bag of beans, I Googled and found this out about the Bolita Bean.

What Are Bolita Beans?

Spanish settlers to the northern New Mexican region initially presented the Bolita Bean to North America. The bean was incorporated into much of the American Indian food traditions in the Four Corners region. With its high protein content and its general ease on the stomach, the Bolita Bean became an important crop, quickly becoming extensively cultivated throughout the American southwest. The beans are deep, pinkish-beige, almost salmon in color, and boast a taste richer in flavor than the Pinto bean, to which it is often compared. Unfortunately, because of this easy association, the Bolita Bean often looses out to the pinto bean in sales.

The beans are packaged by Adobe Milling, here in Dove Creek, Colorado. But where the heck is Dove Creek anyway?  Well come to find out it’s the county seat of Dolores County in the Southwestern corner of our state. With a population 698 it’s also the most populated town in Dolores County. Dove Creek is the self-proclaimed Pinto Bean Capital of the World. Well who knew!

How to Cook Bolita Beans

So what to do with these beans? Treating them like my Cowboy Beans, I simply rinsed one cup of beans, picked out the misfits and dumped them in the crockpot. I always like to add a tablespoon of lard to the slow cooker to give them even a creamier consistency. I covered the beans with two cups water and turned them on low for an all day cook.

And while we’re on the subject of quick bean side dish recipes, you might want to take a look at these Mexican Chorizo Instant Pot Pinto Beans.

Odd for our house, we had a partial bottle of red wine leftover, so when I arrived home, I added about 1/2 cup full-bodied red wine, one teaspoon smoked paprika, 1/2 onion chopped, one clove garlic chopped, 1/2 chocolate bell pepper chopped (or any sweet bell pepper), one jalapeno pepper chopped, one teaspoon, or more, of cumin, one teaspoon chopped fresh thyme, a dash of cinnamon and nutmeg.  After about an hour more of steeping in the crockpot, I gave them a good dose of salt before serving.

I found these rich colored Chocolate Bell Peppers at Berry Patch Farms in Brighton. Sweet, juicy, heirloom, just as the sign says, “who can resist?”

Incredible with flavor, the beans were creamy and the end result was an earthy pungent side dish that we loved. With the paprika, red wine and the chocolate bell peppers, the color was stunning.

Where to buy Bolita Beans in Colorado

The most reliable source to buy Bolita beans in Colorado or to order them nationwide is straight from the source. Adobe Milling in Dove Creek, Colorado.

Recipe for Bolita Beans with Red Wine, Smoked Paprika and Jalapeno

I hope you give this Recipe for Bolita Beans a try. And if you do, please come back and let me know how you liked it and give the recipe a star rating.

Your feedback is valuable to me for developing future recipes. And if you have a favorite bean side dish recipe, let me know, I’d love to give it a try. And if you can’t find bolita beans for purchase, you can use Anasazi beans or even pinto beans for this recipe.

Looking for more dried beans recipes? You won’t want to miss:

• Mexican Chorizo Instant Pot Pinto Beans
• Bolita Bean and Beef Soup

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Bolita Beans with Red Wine, Smoked Paprika and Jalapeno

Prep Time

10 mins

 

A wonderfully seasoned dried bean side dish for any steak, or Mexican Meal.

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: Southwestern

Servings: 6

Ingredients

• 1 cup dried bolita beans
• 1 Tablespoon lard
• 2 cups water
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1 clove garlic chopped chopped
• 1 teaspoon fresh thyme chopped
• 1 dash cinnamon
• 1 dash nutmeg
• 1/2 cup full-bodied red wine
• 1/2 onion chopped
• 1/2 chocolate bell pepper chopped, or any sweet bell pepper,
• 1-2 jalapeno pepper, divided chopped. Stemmed and seeded if you wish to reduce heat.
• salt to taste

Instructions

1. Rinse and pick through beans to remove any misfits. 

2. Place beans, lard, and water in crockpot.  Cover and cook on low 6-8 hours. Tenderness will depend on the freshness of the bean.

3. Add cumin, paprika, garlic, thyme, cinnamon, nutmeg, wine, onion and bell pepper. Remove stem and seeds from jalapeno (only if you want less heat) Chop half and add to beans and save the other half to garnish beans. Cover and continue to cook in crockpot for one hour.
   

4. Add salt and stir well. To serve plate and garnish with rings of jalapeno pepper.

Recipe Notes

Don't add salt when cooking any style of dried beans in the crockpot.  It can keep them from becoming tender. Add salt at the end to season.

Bolita Beans with Red Wine, Smoked Paprika and Jalapeño …It’s What’s for a Side Dish.

Looking for more ways to use Bolita Beans?  How about this:

Bolita Bean and Beef Soup