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FOR COOKING THE BEANS:
1 pound dry black beans
21/2 quarts water
3 garlic cloves, peeled and lightly crushed but left whole
1 bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon dry leaf oregano

TO COMPLETE THE DISH:
Olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 large green bell pepper, chopped
6 garlic cloves, minced
salt to taste
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon raw or brown sugar
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar (or balsamic, yum.)

SOAK AND COOK THE BEANS:
1. Place the beans in a colander and rinse them under cold running water, removing any impurities.
2. Transfer the beans to a large pot, cover them with the water, and soak for at least 8 hours.
3. Add the garlic, bay leaf, and oregano to the pot and bring it to a boil. (Use the soaking water to cook the beans.)
4. Lower the heat to medium, cover, and cook the beans until they are tender, about 1 hour. (Check them after about 45 minutes, though, cuz some black beans require less cooking time. I also like to add some Bragg Liquid Aminos to the beans for some saltiness and flavor. If you want, you can add chicken bouillon, too.) Skim the foam from the top of the pot periodically with a spoon.

COMPLETE THE DISH:
1. While the beans are cooking, warm the olive oil over medium heat in a large, heavy skillet. Saute the onions and green pepper until the onions are translucent, about 3 minutes. Stir in the garlic, salt, pepper, and cumin and cook for 2 minutes more.
2. Remove this mixture, or sofrito, from the heat and place half of it in a food processor or blender. Add a large ladleful of cooked beans and blend until pureed.
3. Stir the puree, the remaining sofrito, and sugar into the beans. Bring the beans to a boil again, lower the heat, and simmer, uncovered, until the cooking liquid has the consistency of thick gravy. Stir frequently so that the beans do not stick to the bottom of the pot.
4. Just before serving, remove the bay leaf, stir in the vinegar, and, if desired, a little more olive oil to further enhance the flavor and texture.

*This recipe is from “A Taste of Old Cuba”, by Maria Josefa Lluria de O’Higgins. Great cookbook, with lots of stories and pictures of Cuba in the 40’s and 50’s.

I like serving these beans with brown rice. If you have a good rice pot (tight fitting lid) you can always make the perfect pot of rice. It works well, too, to cook the beans and rice at the same time, because brown rice needs 50 minutes to cook…

1 Cup brown rice
2 1/4 Cups water

-rinse rice under cool water for a couple of minutes.
-throw the rinsed rice and water into your rice pot.
-bring to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer, cover, and cook for 50 minutes. Don’t lift the lid at any time. Turn off heat, let rice sit for 5 minutes, remove lid, and then fluff it up.