Foodstuff: Will road trip for beans

Fun fact: Did you know that Colorado is home to the Pinto Bean Capital of the World? While this piece of trivia slipped through the cracks of my wealth of useless knowledge until a few weeks ago, I was excited to explore Dove Creek during a recent road trip in southwest Colorado, near the Four Corners. We circled the San Juans, with overnight stops in Telluride, Mancos, Durango, and Pagosa Springs, then back to Durango. Several culinary undertakings were on the agenda, including a few notable dinners, stops at farmers markets, and some hunting for incredible edibles.

Our epic, eight-day adventure kicked off at the informative (and completely wackadoo) Telluride Mushroom Festival. I learned how to forage for chanterelles and porcinis, cooked butter-soaked morels, and ate shaved black truffles over questionably prepared lamb and beef organ meats.

From Telluride, we headed through Rico to Mancos and explored the famous cliff dwellings at Mesa Verde National Park (a very sneaky, cool excursion if you are ever considering visiting!), as well as sipped on a wine tasting at Sutcliffe Vineyards outside of Cortez. A chat with Englishman and proprietor John Sutcliffe revealed that his first home in America was in Carbondale, where he moved cattle up to Aspen each week as a cowboy before decamping (and decanting) south.

Dove Creek, approximately a 40-minute drive from Cortez, is dotted with farmland featuring corn, beans, and squash — all staples of the region initially cultivated by Native Americans who lived in the Four Corners as early as 130 AD. Anasazi is a Navajo word, roughly translating to “the ancient ones.” Anasazi beans, closely related to pintos, are sold at Dove Creek mainstay Adobe Milling Company, as well as specialty markets and grocery stores around the state. We visited their shop adjacent to their farming operation and received a wealth of information about the agriculture in the region, as well as a few bean recipes in a pamphlet — this one courtesy of Ernie Waller.

Anasazi beans and ham hocks

Serves four to six

• 2 c dry Anasazi beans*, washed
• One large onion, quartered
• Two ham hocks
• Two cloves garlic, crushed
• Salt and pepper to taste

Cook beans until almost cooked through, approximately 30-45 minutes. Keep covered with water while cooking.

Add ham hocks, onion, garlic, salt, and pepper. Cook until onions are soft and flavors are combined.

Serve with cornbread or warm tortillas.

Cook’s notes

*Anasazi beans do not require pre-soaking, though this process will accelerate the cooking time.

Anasazi beans are considered a sweeter, unusually tasty baking bean, pairing well with ham and flavorful in Mexican dishes. This sweeter and mealier bean also contains 75% less of the gas-causing carbohydrates compared to pinto beans, so you can comfortably road trip with any companion, if you know what I mean.

All in all, I give this trip all the love. We drove, we dined, we hit markets and restaurants, and we foraged in forests from Durango to Ridgway. I really took a bite out of Southwest Colorado and encourage you to get out there and do the same in this last blast of summer!

Katherine Roberts is a mid-Valley-based writer and marketing professional who can’t wait to explore more food finds in Colorado and beyond. She can be reached via her marketing and communications firm, Carington Creative, at katherine@caringtoncreative.com.