Cuban Black Beans
Submitted by: JustRightMenus
Description:
I used to go to a Cuban restaurant now and then, and these beans taste just like the ones they served.
One note - the recipe below has only 1 pound of black beans. The original said to use 2... but I missed that and made this with just 1 and loved every bite of it! So, to make more, you may only need to double the beans, not everything else.
Servings: 6-8
From the kitchen of:
Ingredients
Day One Ingredients
1 pound dry black beans (see note above)
1 large onion, quartered
1 large green bell pepper, quartered
4 large garlic cloves, peeled and somewhat smashed (just squish them a little with the side of a knife)
1 tsp ground cumin
3 dried bay leaves
1 tsp coarse salt (Kosher or Sea Salt)
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 TB olive oil
Day Two Ingredients
3 additional dried bay leaves
1/4 c. olive oil
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 large onion, minced
1 large green bell pepper, minced
Salt, to taste
Pepper, to taste
1 tsp cider vinegar
1 tsp ground cumin
Directions
1. Soaking
- Place all the ingredients listed for Day One into a large pot. Fill with water to one inch above the bean line, and soak overnight (or a minimum of 12 hours).
2. Cooking
- After at least 12 hours, check the water level. Add water if needed so that the level is still 1 inch above the bean line.
- Bring the contents of the pot to a boil for 5 minutes.
- Reduce the heat to low and cook for 2 1/2 hours without a lid.
- Occasionally (every 1/2 hour or so), skim off any foam, stir the pot, and add water as needed. Do not let it dry out. Note: if you do need to add water, it must be warm/hot.
3. Vegetable Paste
- After cooking for 2 1/2 hours, the vegetables have most likely dissolved quite a bit.
- Using tongs, fish out all that you can find. Don't stress over it too much!
- In a food processor, mix these vegetables along with a few beans and a little of the water, until it makes a paste.
- Add this paste back to the pot.
- By this time, most of the beans should be soft.
4. More Bay Leaves. Add 3 more dried bay leaves and check for whether you need more salt and pepper (a matter of taste).
5. Sofrito
- Heat 1/4 cup olive oil in a frying pan.
- Add the minced garlic cloves to the oil. Cook until they begin to "speak" - do not let them brown.
- Add the minced onion. Cook until the onions appear translucent.
- Then, add the minced green bell pepper.
- Continue cooking until peppers are soft.
- Add salt and pepper to taste.
- Add the vinegar and cumin.
- Mix well, and add the contents of this pan to the large bean pot.
6. More Cooking!
- Continue cooking the beans for at least another hour, covered this time.
- When done, the beans should be tender, and the broth should be fairly thick.