Black Bean, Cuban Style
This simple black bean recipe is based from Cuban cuisine with a touch of sweetness and delicious over rice and staple food in Latin countries.
Like many of you I am trying to incorporate more legumes and substituting meat for other sources of protein.
Growing up in Brazil, rice and bean was a staple food in every meal…therefore I really take pleasure and a mix of nostalgia when I eat rice and bean. As you might be aware bean dishes are cooked in so many ways according to its Country tradition. In Brazil, we have the famous “feijoada” which uses black beans with all kind of meat in it, super tasty and flavorful…on the other had we have the “feijao”, meaning beans, which is serve daily for lunch and dinner over rice and much simpler flavor.
Today, I am sharing another bean stew, which I learned after searching the internet and realized why the Cuban bean dish taste so different from the Brazilian one…bell pepper and a bit of sugar. It is amazing that just by adding these two ingredients the flavor of the bean is totally altered.
The creamy bean stew over rice is so good…plain and simple and yet so satisfying. This recipe was adapted from here with some changes.
Ingredients:
- 1lb dried black bean
- 1 bay leaf
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 medium size onion, chopped
- 1 large green bell pepper, cut into small pieces
- 7-8 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 tablespoons cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- Salt and pepper to taste
Method:
Wash and soak the beans overnight, changing the water a couple of times in between.
Rinse of the water and place the beans in a pot with approximately 5 cup of water and bay leaf.
Let it boil and then simmer for approximately 60 minutes until the beans and cooked throughout. Remove the suds when the beans come to boil and add more water as needed, making sure that the beans are covered.
Alternatively you can use a thermo cooker by adding the beans, bay leaf and water. Let it boil, remove the suds and place the pot in the thermo cooker overnight or until ready to add the other ingredients.
Once the black beans are cooked, in a large pan heat the oil and add onion, garlic and bell pepper and sauté until vegetables begin to soften, about 4-5 minutes.
Add approximately 1 cup of beans to pan. Using the back of spoon smash beans against the wall of the pan, or alternatively use an immersion hand blender. Add remaining beans, oregano, sugar, vinegar and water as needed.
Simmer until mixture thickens. Add salt and pepper to taste, stirring occasionally.
Serve over rice as side dish with chicken, meat, ham, fried egg or with anything you wish.
– For more Latin America cuisine dishes, please check these out…
Did you know that beans are an excellent source of protein, very low in fat and exceptionally high in fiber? They are also a very good source of calcium, iron, folic acid and potassium.
