Gallina Pinta is a beautiful thick stew of pinto beans, hominy, Anaheim Chile, and herbs. Served with a splash of lime juice, chopped cilantro, onion, and Chile chiltepin. It is a dish so local to the state of Sonora that you might not have heard of it before!
Traditionally it is made with beef, but for this vegan version, we are simply omitting it, and believe me when I say that it is equally delicious! What makes this recipe so special is that it’s made in the slow-cooker. Hours of slow simmering produces tender beans and bursting hominy (The real stuff here!! No cans were used in the production of this recipe).
Our Vegan Mexico Project
This recipe is part of an amazing project called Our Vegan Mexico, where 32 talented cooks will be showcasing, right here on Dora’s Table, 32 vegan Mexican recipes. Each recipe will be representing one state of the Mexican union.
With this project, I am hoping to encourage the Mexican community in the U.S., and the people of my country to take a chance and make the change to a plant-based diet. This recipe, which is representing the state of Sonora, is the creation of the talented Natalia Vanegas, and here she is sharing her story with us.
Natalia’s Story:
Changing my diet has been a long process, it didn’t happen overnight. I began a diet to lose weight which recommended the elimination of all dairy products and red meats. I could only eat chicken or fish 1-2 times per week. I followed this diet for two months until I accomplished my weight-loss goal, but since I was feeling so great I considered the possibility of becoming vegetarian, consequently, I began to eliminate all meat from my diet.
I continued to cook for my family as I always had, but when serving the food I would simply not put the meat on my plate, on occasion I would eat fish though. Around the same time, late 2010 I watched a video by the activist Gary Yourofsky, this caused a great impact in my life and it was the first time I heard the term “vegan”, but at that moment I didn’t know how to make such a drastic change. It was clear to me that consuming cow’s milk was completely unnecessary and in certain cases, it could be harmful to your health. I began consuming soy milk or almond milk, but every once in a while I would eat cheese when I was traveling, in restaurants or at social reunions.
It wasn’t until 2017, when I had more nutritional information at my disposal, that I decided to stop being a closeted vegetarian and become fully plant-based. I am now more conscious of the nutrients my body needs. I still cook my favorite foods but in vegan versions; I eat a lot of grains and legumes, that, of course, I had eaten before, but not often. I enjoy cooking so much more now, and I often experiment with new ingredients and different types of recipes. Blogs like Dora’s have been a great help with their recipes and stories of their daily lives, tips of places to eat, and products to use. This makes it easy to live vegan and still enjoy good food!
The Recipe: Gallina Pinta
- If you can’t find dry hominy
, you can use canned. Add it during the final ½ hour of cooking. - You can also make this in your instant pot on manual setting, high pressure for 40 min.
- I recommend you slow cook this, it is well known that slow cooked beans are so much better!
- If your slow cooker is small, half the recipe.
- If you can’t find Anaheim peppers, you can use serrano peppers, but the flavor will change. Some people also prepare it with chile guajillo (chile Colorado) which is essentially dried anaheim pepper.
- The original recipe contains beef, but you can substitute with jackfruit, mushrooms or your favorite meat substitute. I prefer to simply omit the beef and I quite enjoy it. Enjoy!!
, you can use canned. Add it during the final ½ hour of cooking.
GALLINA PINTA
Ingredients
- 14 oz. Pinto beans, dried
- 14 oz. Dried Pozole, (prepared hominy)
- 1 head Garlic, peeled
- 1 White onion, cut into ¼’s
- 1 Anaheim pepper, stemmed and deseeded (increase quantity according to taste)
- 1 tbps. Coriander seeds
- 1 gallon Water
- Salt to taste, add at the end when the hominy has “burst”
Garnish:
- ½ cup Chopped Cilantro
- 3 limes
- ½ cup Sliced green onion
- Chiltepin or chile piquín to taste
- 4 slices Bolillo bread, toasted and slathered in vegan butter
Instructions
- Clean the beans and soak them for 8 – 12 hours, discard the soaking water and rinse the beans.
- Place the hominy in a strainer and rinse until the water is clear.
- Place the beans, hominy, garlic, onion, Anaheim pepper, and coriander seeds in the slow-cooker. Add water (according to the instructions on your slow cooker). Cook on low for 12 hours.
- Check periodically and add more water if necessary.
- When the beans are cooked and the hominy has “burst”, remove the chile skins and add salt to taste.
- Serve hot in large bowl. Place garnishes on the table so everyone can garnish their own plate.
Notes
If your slow cooker is small, half the recipe.
If you can’t find Anaheim peppers, you can use serrano peppers, but the flavor will change. Some people also prepare it with chile guajillo (chile Colorado) which is essentially dried Anaheim pepper.
The original recipe contains beef, but you can substitute with jackfruit, mushrooms or your favorite meat substitute. I prefer to simply omit the beef and I quite enjoy it. Enjoy!!
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