Cuban Black Beans

I'm going to be honest...I don't love black beans. I don't hate them either, but when given a choice I always go for pinto. I figured if I was going to like eating black beans, I was going to have to make them myself from scratch (isn't that how it always goes?).

This recipe did not disappoint. In fact, it's probably one of my new favorite beans and rice recipes. Though I must admit, I didn't love how the beans turned everything they touched purple. Maybe they should be called purple beans? 

Anyhoo, I stumbled upon the recipe on the New York Times site, and immediately knew this was the one to make. I had both the ham hock and the exact amount of bacon in my freezer, so hello spring cleaning for my freezer!! Also...ten cloves of garlic. That's what I'm talking about. Anything with that much garlic has got to be a winner. 

The original recipe called for 5 teaspoons of salt, and I thought it came out a bit salty. That didn't stop me and two of my girlfriends from licking our bowls clean. I've reduced the salt to 2 teaspoons in the recipe below, plus more to taste.

Ingredients

 

1 pound dried black beans, rinsed and picked over to remove any stones

1 1/2 green peppers, stemmed and seeded

10 garlic cloves

1 smoked ham hock

2 bay leaves

2 teaspoons salt, plus more to taste

4 slices thick bacon, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

1 Spanish onion, diced

1 jalapeño, stemmed and finely chopped

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground

black pepper

3 tablespoons distilled white vinegar

1 tablespoon brown sugar

Chopped cilantro, to garnish

Directions

Soak beans overnight in a large pot of water (or 6-8 hours).

Cut 1 green pepper into 1-inch squares. Smash and peel 4 of the garlic cloves. In a large dutch oven, add the green pepper and garlic, with the beans, ham hock, bay leaves and 1 teaspoon 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. Finely dice the remaining ½ green pepper, then peel and finely chop the remaining garlic. 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, though I thought the seeds added a nice heat), oregano, cumin, black pepper and remaining teaspoon 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 leaves. 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, topped with chopped cilantro.  

This makes a large pot of beans, but they freeze very well!!

Recipe source: seen on NYtimes.com, adapted from Tastes Like Cuba, by Eduardo Machado and Michael Domitrovich.