Frijoles Negros - Cuban Black Beans

I've had this bag of dried black beans in my cupboard for a while now.   This weekend I decided to give those beans some life, Cuban style.  Very simple, flavorful, mild, and delicious. 


Prep Time:  20 Minutes
Soaking Time:  6-8 hours or overnight
Cooking Time:  1-1/2 to 2 hours
Servings:  12


Ingredients:


1 pound of dry black beans, picked over and rinsed
2 bay leaves
1 white onion - diced
4 cloves of garlic - mashed
2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
1-1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar
1 splash balsamic vinegar

Mash the garlic with a mortar and pestle - add a pinch of salt while mashing.
The salt keeps the garlic from jumping out of the mortar.

Method:

Soak dried beans in water overnight

After soaking, the water should be a dark, inky black

• Soak the beans overnight in 8 cups of water in a large soup pot.
• Add bay leaves to the beans and bring to a boil; cover, reduce heat, and simmer 1-1/4 hours, or until the beans are very tender.

The onions, garlic, and cumin create the seasoning or "sazon"

• After the beans have cooked for an hour, heat the oil in a large skillet over medium low heat; add the onions, garlic, cumin, and salt. Sweat the onion and then simmer gently covered for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the onions are tender.
• Add the cooked onion mixture (sazon), sugar, and vinegar to the beans; cover and simmer gently for 20 minutes.  
• While simmering, take a potato masher and crush some of the beans in the pot. This thickens the juice.
• Serve over cooked rice.

Recipe Links:

Here is the original video recipe which inspired the theme and seasoning for the dish.

Here is a link to the written piece which provided the structure of the dish.

Here's a link to the coolest building around.

$200 Lentil Soup n' Chard

The photo below does not do this very delicious soup justice.  Unfortunately, it is the only photo I have... While trying to get "the shot" for the blog, my fingers slipped and I dropped my camera and it is no more... This ended up being the most expensive cup of soup I have ever made... As far as a Lentil soup goes, this recipe is a Classic.

Originally published in Cooking Light magazine, I stumbled upon it online when searching for recipes to use some really fresh swiss chard I had.  The original recipe calls for adding some lemon juice at the end and serving with a dollup of yogurt.   


Prep Time:  30 Minutes
Cook Time:  About 1 hour
Servings:  6


Nutritional Information:
Serving size:  1 1/3 cups
Calories:  292
Fat:  5.2g
Saturated Fat:  2.8g
Cholesterol:  12.2mg
Sodium:  810mg
Total Carbohydrate:  46.3g
Dietary Fiber:  19.5g
Sugars:  6.7g
Protein:  16.7g


The Ingredients and Method are straight from the original posting by Dorothy Madison, dated October 2003.


Ingredients:
1 3/4  cups  dried brown lentils
2  quarts water
1  cup  diced carrot
1 3/4  teaspoons  sea salt
Dash of dried thyme
2  garlic cloves, crushed
2  parsley sprigs
2  bay leaves
2  tablespoons  butter
3  cups  chopped onion
1  teaspoon  ground cumin
6  cups  torn Swiss chard
1  tablespoon  fresh lemon juice
1/2  teaspoon  freshly ground black pepper
6  tablespoons  plain whole yogurt


Method:

• Sort and wash the lentils. Combine lentils, water, and next 6 ingredients (water through bay leaves) in a large Dutch oven; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 45 minutes or until tender.
• Melt butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cumin; sauté 10 minutes or until browned. 
• Stir onion mixture into lentil mixture. Discard bay leaves and parsley. 
• Add chard to soup; simmer, uncovered, 10 minutes or until chard is tender. 
• Remove soup from heat. Stir in juice and pepper. 
• Ladle 1 1/3 cups soup into each of 6 bowls; top each serving with 1 tablespoon yogurt. 

Recipe Links:
Here's the original post.