OMG, Thanksgiving flew by, and now it’s time to deck the halls and jingle all the way! In our Cuban-Italian family, the real party is on Christmas Eve. We all come together, devouring a feast of delicious traditional treats, talking the night away, and then unwrapping presents before getting back to the table for a sweet dessert. Our spread is a heavenly mix of Italian and Cuban flavors, and one of my favorite dishes is the black beans on top of rice. So simple, yet so special. Today, I’m letting you in on our family recipe. It’s the same base recipe for red beans or lentils if you’re feeling adventurous, but just a heads up, I always like to throw in a ham bone or some porky goodness to make it extra hearty when I use those instead of black beans.
Caridad’s Cuban Black Beans!
Ingredients
To start:
1 lb. dried black beans
1 lg. onion, cut into eighths
1 red pepper, cut into eighths
3 to 6 cloves garlic, minced
2 bay leaves
1 tsp cumin powder
1/8 cup olive oil
1 cup red wine (not salty cooking wine — real red wine)
salt and pepper to taste
32 ounces (1 box) of vegetable broth
1-2 cups of water (enough to cover the beans)
To finish the beans:
1 medium onion, chopped
1/2 a red pepper, chopped
2 to 3 cloves, minced
1/8 cup olive oil
1/2 cup sherry
Cooking the beans:
There are those who believe in soaking the beans overnight. My family never did this, but it will speed up the cooking time. The one thing to remember is — DO NOT THROW OUT THE SOAKING WATER! It has a lot of the flavor from the beans and you will lose all that flavor if you toss it. Also, don’t soak the beans too long or they will begin to ferment.
If you don’t soak, it will mean simmering the beans for a longer amount of time, but on a cold day, the smell and heat are a welcome thing.
So, before you soak (or not), rinse the beans to get rid of any field dirt and also, pick through them for any bad beans or small stones. Yes, there can be stones. I’ve found one or two in the many years I’ve made the beans.
Once the beans are clean, place them in a stockpot, Dutch oven, or heavy cast iron kettle. Add the broth, water, wine, bay leaves, onion, pepper, and cumin, salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Make sure to stir a few times to make sure the beans are not sticking to the bottom.
Once the water is boiling, turn it down so that it is a slow simmer. Simmer with the cover on for at least 3 to 4 hours. Stir occasionally. The water should start to thicken from the beans. You can test to see if the beans are done by tasting one. It should not be hard. If you are running out of water, add some more, little by little.
Once the beans are soft, finish the beans by frying up the onion, red pepper and garlic and add it to the cooked beans along with the sherry. Adjust the taste with salt to your liking.
You can serve the beans over white rice. Cubans call this moros y cristianos. You can also eat this alone as a soup. If you do this, garnish it with raw onions, cheddar cheese, avocados, and/or chopped ham.
Hope you like today’s Cook’s Treat. If you try it out, please let me know how you liked it!
