Sunday, September 19, 2010

Cuban Style Black Beans

I've adapted this recipe from one of my favorite cookbooks: "Cheap Eats". The authors, Brooke Dojny and Melanie Barnard, wrote a food column for Bon Appetit for many years. Phil says he uses this recipe to fix any type of beans.

1 lb. dried black beans
1/4 c. olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced or run through a press
2 t. chili powder
pinch of sugar
1 bay leaf, broken in half
2 teaspoons cider vinegar
1 1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. hot pepper sauce OR 1 serrano pepper, chopped fine
1/4 t. black pepper, if desired
1 t. cumin

Rinse the beans well. Cover with water 3-4 inches over beans. You can soak overnight or use the quick method: Bring to a boil and boil for 2 minutes. Cover the beans and cut the heat. Let sit for one hour. Return to boil. Skim off any skum. Add 1 t. of the salt and the olive oil. Lower the heat, cover, and simmer for 2 1/2 hours or until beans are softening. Add everything else. Simmer for 45 minutes more. Serve with rice or cornbread. Don't forget to discard the bay leaf!

3 comments:

  1. Hey Mom,

    Thanks for posting this recipe. I made the beans a little while ago and they turned out really tasty. I do remember Phil making black beans often when we lived together in Austin, so that got me into them. Though usually Phil would embellish them with bacon and some other stuff.

    I did the quick boil method, and the beans were edible but not cooked as much as we'd have wanted them to be. Maybe I didn't boil it long enough or something. Or perhaps I simmered them at too low a heat... I think I'll do the long method next time.

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  2. Well Aug, I've noticed black beans seem to take much longer than other beans to cook. But none of the cookbooks I have mention that. And that's a pretty big factor! Soaking them overnight (long way) would be a good idea since it's cooler now. A simmer is a simmer so that couldn't have been the problem. So I'm going to edit the recipe to reflect more time. Thanks for mentioning that. I bet that Peruvian garlic rice dish that Violeta talks about would be GREAT with the black beans. Yeah, we sure do need a good Peruvian recipe on this blog. . . I'm glad you're cooking, Aug!

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  3. We love black beans so I am happy you posted this Sue. I've never put the cider vinegar in my beans - so I am anxious to try! Thanks for posting!

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