Cuban black beans and rice

Recipes courtesy of:

Ingredients (rice):


  • 2 cups long grain white rice or jasmine

  • 2 1/2 cups water

  • 1 tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil

  • 1 teaspoon salt (or to taste)

    1 tbsp butter (I did not add, but that would be super yummy! I added extra olive oil instead since I was making them non-dairy for allergens)

  • 1 Maggi bouillon cube (this was my addition to the recipe)


    Instructions:


    • Using a rice cup, measure out two cups of rice and put them into a colander or bowl. 
    • Wash the rice under running water, swishing it around, until the water begins to run clear. It is important to wash the extra starch out, to help the rice fluff up while it cooks.
    • Put the 2 1/2 cups of water in a pot and bring it to a boil. 
    • Once boiling, add in your olive oil and salt AND MAGGI CUBE, and then stir. Give it a taste. Make sure you like how it tastes, because what you taste now is exactly what your rice will taste like. 
    • Add your rice to the boiling water and cover. Let boil on high for 1-2 minutes, and then drop it down to a simmer. 
    • Let the rice simmer from 12-15 minutes. Open the lid, and use a fork to fluff. At this point, the rice is ready to serve, unless..
    • Unless you want to hit the more restaurant style rice. If so, add in your teaspoon of butter. Mix the butter in, cover with a lid, and let it stand with no heat for another 5 minutes. 
    • Serve Warm. Please do not allow any heavy fighting over the raspitas. 



For the beans: 

Ingredients:
- 1.5 green peppers, stemmed and seeded
- 10 garlic cloves
- 1 pound dried black beans, rinsed and picked over to remove any stones
- 1 smoked ham hock
- 2 bay leaves
- 5 tsp salt, or to taste
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 4 slices thick bacon, cut into 1/2-inch piece3s
- 1 Spanish onion, diced
- 1 jalapeno, stemmed and finely chopped
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin
- 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 3 tbsp distilled white vinegar
- 1 tbsp brown sugar



Instructions:


1) Cut 1 green pepper into 1-inch squares. Smash and peel 4 of the garlic cloves. Put the green pepper and garlic into a large pot with the beans, ham hock, bay leaves and 1 tablespoon salt. Add 2 quarts water and bring to a boil. Cover the pot and simmer until the beans are tender, an hour or more.


2) Meanwhile, make a sofrito. Cut the remaining ½ green pepper into ¼-inch dice. Peel and finely chop the remaining garlic. Heat the olive oil in a very large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the bacon and cook, stirring occasionally, until it starts to brown, about 5 minutes. Add the green pepper and onion and cook, stirring, until slightly softened, about 3 minutes. Add the garlic, jalapeño (leave out the seeds if you don’t want it too spicy), oregano, cumin, black pepper and 2 teaspoons salt and stir for another minute. Pour in the vinegar and scrape any browned bits from bottom of pan with a wooden spoon. This is your sofrito.


3) When the beans are cooked, discard the bay leaf. Remove and set aside the ham hock and let it cool. Transfer 1 cup of beans to small bowl, mash them into a paste with the back of a fork and return to the pot. Add the sofrito, then the sugar. Pull the meat from the ham hock, leaving behind any white sinew or gristle. Chop the ham into ½-inch pieces and return it to the bean pot.


4) Stir the beans well and bring to a boil over medium heat, then lower to a simmer and cook, uncovered, for 20 minutes or so, skimming any foam from the top. Taste for salt and serve with white rice.



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