Cuban Black Beans Original Recipes

CUBAN BLACK BEANS

Steps:

• Rinse and sort beans; soak according to package directions. Drain and rinse beans, discarding liquid. , Place beans in a large saucepan; add 6 cups water and bay leaf. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer until tender, 1-1/2 to 2 hours., Meanwhile, in a large skillet, saute peppers and onions in oil until tender. Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer. Stir in the tomato puree, sherry, sugar and salt. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, until thickened, 8-10 minutes. Drain beans; discard bay leaf. Stir beans into tomato mixture.

CUBAN BLACK BEANS I

Steps:

• In a large bowl, soak beans in water to cover overnight.
• Rinse beans, and transfer to a large stock pot. Add onion, bell peppers, bay leaves, paprika, cumin, oregano, and chile peppers, along with water to cover. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 1 1/2 hours.
• Test beans for tenderness, and when tender add garlic and balsamic vinegar. Salt and pepper to taste.

CUBAN BLACK BEANS II

Steps:

• Place beans in a large saucepan with enough water to cover, and soak 8 hours, or overnight; drain.
• Heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat, and saute onion, green bell pepper, and garlic until tender.
• Into the onion mixture, stir the drained beans, water, tomato paste, pimentos, and vinegar. Season with salt, sugar, and pepper. Bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally, until beans are tender.

CUBAN BLACK BEANS

Steps:

• Cut 1 green pepper into 1-inch squares. Smash and peel 4 of the garlic cloves. Put the green pepper and garlic into a large pot with the beans, ham hock, bay leaves and 1 tablespoon salt. Add 2 quarts water and bring to a boil. Cover the pot and simmer until the beans are tender, an hour or more.
• Meanwhile, make a sofrito. Cut the remaining ½ green pepper into ¼-inch dice. Peel and finely chop the remaining garlic. Heat the olive oil in a very large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the bacon and cook, stirring occasionally, until it starts to brown, about 5 minutes. Add the green pepper and onion and cook, stirring, until slightly softened, about 3 minutes. Add the garlic, jalapeño (leave out the seeds if you don't want it too spicy), oregano, cumin, black pepper and 2 teaspoons salt and stir for another minute. Pour in the vinegar and scrape any browned bits from bottom of pan with a wooden spoon. This is your sofrito.
• When the beans are cooked, discard the bay leaf. Remove and set aside the ham hock and let it cool. Transfer 1 cup of beans to small bowl, mash them into a paste with the back of a fork and return to the pot. Add the sofrito, then the sugar. Pull the meat from the ham hock, leaving behind any white sinew or gristle. Chop the ham into ½-inch pieces and return it to the bean pot.
• Stir the beans well and bring to a boil over medium heat, then lower to a simmer and cook, uncovered, for 20 minutes or so, skimming any foam from the top. Taste for salt and serve with white rice.

CUBAN-STYLE BLACK BEANS

Steps:

• Soak the beans with the baking soda in 10 cups of water for about 3 hours. Rinse and drain.
• Add the beans to a Dutch oven and add 10 cups fresh water, along with the olive oil, cumin, oregano, sugar, vinegar, cilantro stems, bay leaves and onion. Simmer until the beans are soft, about 2 hours. Add 2 teaspoons of salt (or more to taste) and freshly ground black pepper to taste.

CUBAN BLACK BEANS

Steps:

• Cover dry beans with water and let stand covered overnight. Drain and discard water.
• Place the cleaned black beans in a large 6-quart saucepan. Add water and olive oil-this will prevent the beans from foaming. Bring the beans to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover, and cook until the beans are tender, about 1 hour.
• Do not add salt to the beans when they are cooking. Salt at this stage of the game will make your beans very tough.
• You may also cook the beans in a pressure cooker. Follow the manufacturer's directions for exact times, but our pressure cooker takes about 20 to 25 minutes to cook the beans completely.
• Whichever method you use, do not drain the water from the cooked beans.
• Meanwhile, chop onion and green pepper. Mash the garlic with salt and peppercorns in a mortar and pestle.
• Sauté the onions and green pepper in olive oil until the onions are translucent. Add mashed garlic and sauté another minute or so.
• Add the cooked beans, oregano, cumin, bay leaf, vinegar, and wine. Cover and simmer over low heat for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove bay leaf.
• Some cooks-including us-like to thicken the beans by taking about 1 cup of beans and mashing them to make a thick paste. Mix the mashed beans back into the pot.
• Add additional salt and pepper to taste.
• Stir in the sugar; then drizzle a couple of tablespoons of olive oil over the beans. Immediately cover the pot, remove from heat, and let stand for 10 minutes.
• Serve the by now fantastically prepared black beans over white rice.
• You may garnish the beans with cilantro and chopped white onions. Not only do they look good presented this way, they taste even better than they look.

ABUELA'S FRIJOLES NEGROS - GRANDMA'S CUBAN BLACK BEANS

Steps:

• Wash beans and let them soak in water and half of the green pepper over night at room temperature.
• Once beans have swollen, simmer on stove until they become soft (about 45 minutes).
• Heat olive oil in pan and sauté onion, garlic, and the rest of the green pepper.
• Add 1 cup of the coked beans to pan and mash well.
• Return entire mixture to pot with beans.
• Add salt, pepper, oregano, bay leaf, and sugar.
• Cover and return to boil.
• Simmer for 1 hour longer.
• Add vinegar and dry wine, cover and simmer for one hour longer.
• If beans are still too wet after this time, cook uncovered until they thicken.
• Remove bay leaf and top with olive oil prior to serving.

CUBAN BLACK BEANS

Steps:

• Wash beans.
• In a large pot, soak the beans with the first chopped bell pepper in water until swollen. Overnight?.
• **It doesn't say so but I'd drain it at this point and add new water so the beans won't be so musical if you know what I mean.**.
• Cook until soft about 45 minutes.
• Heat oil in a medium pan. Add onion, second bell pepper and garlic and cook until soft.
• Add 1 cup of cooked beans and mash them well. Add mixture to bean pot.
• Add dry seasonings to the pot.
• Cover and boil 1 hour.
• Add vinegar and wine.
• Cover and simmer 1 hour.
• If broth is too watery, uncover and cook until it thickens.
• Just before serving stir in the olive oil.