Frijoles Negros Cuban Black Beans

Today is a Secret Recipe Club reveal!

Welcome to July’s  August’s SRC  and Group C’s posting day.  (Seriously, I need some help.   I truly wrote July and didn’t catch it until a final, last minute preveiw.)

Secret Recipe Club

I am so in awe of bloggers who have cool (and intelligent) names for their blogs…blogs like  Cinnamon Freud.     Image4How clever cool is that?   I love it!   Karen is the genius blogger behind this cerebral foodie blog.   And, luckily, maybe some help was on the way for me.

For more insight on Karen, the mind behind this blog, click here.

There were  three recipes that I had been stalking:   Italian Meatball Burgers (which I am still going to try), Corn Cakes with Goat Cheese (because they contain squash and I have a lot of it) and Frijoles Negros Cuban Black Beans.    I landed on the black beans.

I had (keyword here is had) a marvelous Cuban Black Bean recipe once.   (Keyword here is once).     I even remember what recipe book I found it in.    (Again, notice the past tense.)     It has disappeared.      I have searched this recipe book and many others in my archives trying to find this recipe.    All I remember is it had black beans (no brainer), sweet peppers, and a bit of brown sugar.   IT WAS DELICIOUS!    Since I am obviously doomed to never find it again, I decided to try to recapture its goodness with some regression therapy with Cinnamon Freud.

I slightly adapted her recipe a bit by adding green peppers, one jalapeno for heat, and a bit of brown sugar.

FRIJOLES NEGROS CUBAN BLACK BEANS
Slightly adapted from Cinnamon Freud who adapted it from Bon Apetit via Epicurious

1  c. dry black beans
Olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 c. bell pepper, chopped (I used a mixture of green and gold bell peppers.)
1 large jalapeno, seeded and chopped
3 large cloves of  garlic, minced
1 T. dried Mexican oregano
1 t.  ground coriander
1/8 c. dark brown sugar
2 T. red wine vinegar
Sea Salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste

Rinse beans.   In a medium bowl, cover beans with water.  Soak for 6-8 hours.  Drain.

In a medium saucepan, combine beans with 3 cups of warm water.  Simmer over low heat for 1 1/2- 2 hours, adding additional warm water as needed.  Drain and set aside.
If you don’t have 6-8 hours to soak beans,  use this quick method:  Place beans in cooking pot and add water so that three inches cover beans.  Bring to a boil, cover with lid, and turn off heat.   Let set for 90 minutes.  After 90 minutes, drain and rinse.  (Discard soaking water—water a plant!)  Place back in pan and add three cups of new water.   Bring to boil, cover, and reduce to simmer.   Simmer for another 90 minutes.

In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat.  Add onions and peppers and cook for 5-7 minutes, until softened.IMAG4268Add garlic and cook 1-2 additional minutes.   Add oregano, coriander, brown sugar and  vinegar. Cook for 2-3 minutes until vinegar has evaporated.  Add black beans and toss to reheat.   IMAG4270Remove from heat, season with salt and pepper to taste.  Serves 4 as a side dish.

Thanks, Karen, for helping me recapture a favorite dish.   I got pretty darn close with your assistance.

SRC black beans


Thanks to our SRC hosts Jane,  SarahSuzanne, and the fabulous Group C host, Debbi.  They do a super fantastic job keeping us all organized, informed, and on track!   Thank you, ladies!  (For all my past SRC posts, click here. )

 

(Also, please remember Abigail and her family today.   I just potted this hibiscus up by the front door.)2013-08-05 20.22.25

34 comments to Frijoles Negros Cuban Black Beans