Hi,
In response to an e-mail request, I have tried several recipes for bean pie.
Muslim Bean Pie: Some History and the Best Recipe wrote:Best Tasting Traditional Bean Pie
2 cups navy beans (cooked according to package instructions)
Note: You'll want to make sure that you have planned ahead to make this pie because you need to pre-soak the beans before you can cook them.
1 stick butter
2 tablespoons flour
4 eggs
1 teaspoon nutmeg
2 cups sugar
1 14 oz. can evaporated milk
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 tablespoons vanilla
Cook beans until soft. Preheat oven. to 350 degrees.
In electric blender, blend beans, butter, milk, eggs, nutmeg and flour about 2 minutes on medium speed. Pour mixture into a large mixing bowl. Add sugar and vanilla. Mix well. Pour into pie shells. Bake about one hour until golden brown.
Makes 2 or 3 Bean Pies.
Bean pie recipe wrote:A bean pie recipe with Great Northern beans, butter, and spices.
INGREDIENTS:
· 2 (15 ounces each) cans Great Northern beans, drained
· 3 large eggs
· 1 1/4 cups sugar
· 1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
· 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
· 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
· 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg or use freshly grated
· 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
· 1 teaspoon baking powder
· 1/3 cup evaporated milk
· 1 pie crust, 9-inch, baked, cooled
PREPARATION:
In mixing bowl with electric hand-held mixer, beat the drained beans until smooth. Beat in eggs, sugar, butter, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice. In a separate bowl, combine baking powder and milk.
Add to bean mixture. Beat mixture well to blend; pour into the cooled pie shell.
Bake the pie in preheated 350° oven for 50 minutes, or until set. Let pie cool before serving.
I am fairly certain I made the pie pictured below with the second recipe, which has baking powder in it. I used pinto beans instead of navy beans, which is a known substitute. The crust formed on this pie might be assisted by the baking powder, plus baking until it was browned/carmelized a bit. Please note on all these bean recipes, process them in the blender longer than you might overwise think is needed. The longer the smoother, because I stopped when I thought it was blended and later thought I should have blended it a bit smoother. If I made bean pies on a regular basis, I might be able to be more precise, but I don't.
A link to a bean pie variant with coconut and pecans, which would not be acceptable because Nation of Islam discourages eatings nuts and coconut:
Pinto bean pie.
In Howard Paige's book
Aspects of African American Foodways, he has an unusual bean pie recipe made with bean flour. The bean powder added to boiling water instantly thickens to a heavy paste. The one time I prepared this recipe, I ground black eyed peas in my coffee grinder to avoid the thankless effort of finding genuine bean flour. This pie as I recall was very dense texture.
In company where bean pies are unknown, I find it best not to advise what it is until they tried it. People just don't associate beans with dessert in our culture, so they get all tentative going into unchartered territory.
Regards,