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As I was researching bean pies for my story about the odd and delicious dessert of the Nation of Islam, I kept scoffing at the occasional photos I’d run across of sad, grayish pies that look exactly like something you’d expect a mashed navy bean to produce. That’s no bean pie, I’d say to myself. It looks nothing like the appealing bronzed Supreme Bean pies I’d been frisked for at the Nation’s Muhammad University of Islam, nor the equally wonderful pies made by Imani Muhammad, who told me the thin, brown upper layer is a result of the butter bronzing in the oven. I wanted to post a recipe, but the one I worked from, from Muslim Cooking With Muhammad by Aubrey Muhammad, turned out such an unappetizing, gluey mess that I could feel my serotonin drop just looking at it. Maybe it was divine retribution, since I made the crust with lard.
