You cannot go wrong with a pot of these Cuban-style black beans. They pair beautifully with grilled meats, roasted chicken, French fries, or sweet potatoes, make a delicious filling for empanadas, burritos, or tacos, and are a meal in themselves - plus they freeze well!
Ingredients:
1 pound dried black beans
2 green peppers, 1 quartered, 1 diced
8 cups water
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
3 bay leaves
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon white wine
Sort beans, removing any pebbles, dried corn kernels, or other non-bean entities. Place beans in a large, heavy pot and add the quartered green pepper and 8 cups of water. Cover and bring to a boil. Boil beans for two minutes, then remove from heat and allow beans to soak for at least one hour. Bring beans back to a boil, then turn down to a low simmer and allow beans to cook, stirring occasionally, for another 30 to 45 minutes. As the beans simmer, heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the the diced onion and green pepper, along with 1 teaspoon of salt, to the skillet and cook until softened but not browned. Add the minced garlic and cook for another 30 seconds. Remove the large pieces of green pepper from the pot, and stir in the onion-pepper mixture, along with the additional 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt, oregano, bay leaves, sugar, and black pepper. Cover and continue to simmer beans for another 45 minutes to an hour or until almost tender enough to eat. Stir in the red wine vinegar and white wine, cover the pot, and simmer for another 15 minutes. Check beans for doneness and adjust salt to taste.
A note on cooking time and texture: Fresher dried beans will take closer to two hours to cook while beans that have been dried for longer may need up to four hours to soften. If your beans are done or almost done but too soupy for your liking, remove the lid to allow liquid to cook off and/or mash some beans against the side of the pot and stir. If your beans are getting dry before being all the way done, add water.
*If using table salt, start with a total of 2 teaspoons and adjust as needed
Yield: about 8 cups
Storage: beans keep in the refrigerator for five days and freeze very well
#vegan #vegetarian #cuban #blackbeans