Cuban Black Beans Recipe

Active Time:

45 mins

Total Time:

11 hrs 15 mins

Yield:

12 cups

This Cuban black beans recipe comes courtesy of chef Alex Garcia's grandmother. Instead of pre-soaking the beans, start with unsoaked dried black beans and cook them with aromatics until tender. Then, make a sofrito — a fragrant flavor base — with red, yellow, and green bell peppers, white onion, cumin, and oregano, cooking it until the vegetables are meltingly tender. Infuse olive oil with a generous amount of garlic, then add the garlicky oil and sofrito to the black beans along with tomato paste for a deeply savory essence. Our soaking moment happens at the end of the cooking process. Let the mixture “sleep” overnight so all these delicious flavors meld together.

Unless you're feeding a crowd, your pot of beans will be the gift that keeps on giving over the course of the next few days. If you like, you can balance out the beans with a pinch of sugar and a drizzle of vinegar or squeeze of lime. Eat them as the main event, serve them as a side dish, or enjoy them as part of a salad, breakfast burrito, or tostada.

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Ingredients

1 pound dried black beans, picked over and rinsed
2 green bell peppers, 1 quartered lengthwise and 1 minced
8 cups water
2 bay leaves
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 red bell pepper, minced
1 yellow bell pepper, minced
1 large white onion, minced
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon oregano
1/4 cup tomato paste
3 tablespoons minced garlic
Kosher salt

Directions

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Gather ingredients.
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Put black beans, quartered green pepper, and bay leaves in a large saucepan; add 8 cups of water. Bring to a boil over moderately high heat. Reduce heat to low, partially cover saucepan, and cook, stirring occasionally, until beans are tender, about 2 1/2 hours. Remove and discard green pepper pieces and bay leaves.
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Meanwhile, heat 1/4 cup of the olive oil in a large skillet. Add minced bell peppers and onion; cook over moderate heat until softened, about 20 minutes. Stir in cumin, oregano, and tomato paste.
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Cook garlic in remaining 1/2 cup of olive oil in a small saucepan over moderately low heat until golden brown.
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When beans are tender, add sautéed pepper mixture and garlic in its oil. Season with salt and simmer gently for 5 minutes to blend flavors.
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Cover and refrigerate overnight or for up to 3 days. Reheat gently before serving.

Originally appeared: January 1997

Cuban Black Beans

Ingredients

Directions

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