Black Beans

You will find this dish throughout the Caribbean, and the north of South America.  I make it Venezuelan style.  I do know that in Brazil and that in Cuba it is prepared similarly, but I am not sure how close their recipes are.  The only downside to this dish is that it requires a very long time to cook. You can replace the bacon with the leftover bone of a pork roast… sorry it doesn’t sound very appetizing, but it is the original method and it does give you better results… as a modern twist, I like to add bacon.

• 1 package black beans
• 3 red peppers – chopped
• 3 onions – chopped
• 4 garlic cloves – pressed
• 3.5 oz (100 gr) bacon.
• 3 laurel leaves
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon vinegar

Directions:

1. Soak the beans overnight.
2. Prepare a sofrito with the onions, peppers, and the garlic.
3. Add all the ingredients to a stew pot, and cook for a few hours, until the beans are tender.