LUIS' CUBAN BLACK BEANS
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| Luis' Cuban Black Beans Photography by Chia Chong Styling by Libbie Summers |
In this strange age of social distancing, our family, like many others across the world, is tighter than ever before. Homeschooling while working from home can be challenging, yes, but we also have more uninterrupted time to be together. Instead of our normal daily hustle, race to pick the kids up after work, then to taekwondo or basketball, and studying, we have time for us.
We take daily bike rides and play rounds of pingpong, Clue and Uno Flip. Luis and Ana potted sunflowers and Mexican sage, which will bring butterflies to our back porch soon, and planted tomatoes, peppers, summer okra, arugula, sweet onions, watermelon, basil, rosemary and mint in the organic box garden he constructed a few years ago.
As always, Luis continues to cook. Apparently, the rest of country is doing the same. I've had numerous requests for Luis' Cuban black beans recipe.
Why? They're comforting, sublime, healthy, affordable and can feed an army. In my opinion, they're perfect.
So much so, that when a network TV producer asked for a video of Luis cooking a recipe of his choice so that he could shop a show around last year, that's the recipe he shared.
On a deeper level, Luis very much believes that we are what we eat. He considers his greatest legacy to our kids is the food that he cooks for them everyday. And his Cuban black beans are at the top of the list.
Just ask our seven-year-old how she feels about it.
"Daddy's food makes me feel alive!"
Luis' Cuban Black Beans
serves 10-12
Ingredients
2 cups organic dried black beans, picked over and rinsed thoroughly
1 bay leaf
1 large red bell pepper, stemmed, seeded and cut into four pieces (highly recommend roasted peppers, as they give incredible depth and flavor)
4 cloves garlic
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/2 cup olive oil plus more for drizzling when serving
1 large yellow or Vidalia onion, diced
1 cup red wine
1 tablespoon vinegar (Luis like Bragg Organic Apple Cider)
1 tablespoon sugar
Salt and pepper to taste
6 cups prepared rice (optional for serving)
Directions
In a 6 quart pressure cooker, add the beans, bay leaf, bell pepper and 8 cups of water. Following the manufacturer's directions, cover, lock the lid and cook on high until the pressure kicks in, then lower to a simmer for about 40 minutes. Remove from heat and let rest for 5 minutes before releasing the steam.
While beans are cooking, prepare the sofrito. Mash the garlic with a mortar and pestle (trick: if you add a pinch of salt the garlic won't fly out) and set aside. Add the oil and diced onion to a sauce pan over medium heat. Cook until the onions become translucent (about 5 minutes). Stir in the garlic and cook for an additional 2 minutes.
Blend the sofrito with the beans and return the mix to the stovetop to simmer over medium-low heat for 5 minutes. Stir in the red wine, vinegar and sugar. Remove from heat, cover and let sit for 20 minutes. Add the cumin and salt and pepper to taste.
To serve, ladle beans over rice and drizzle with olive oil.
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