A staple in Cuban home cooking is Black Beans. More often than not, they are served on top of white rice. This is a rich, filing and savory addition to any main protein course. No Christmas roast pig dinner would be complete without a generous serving of black beans and rice.

My mom would soak the dry beans overnight and also being careful to remove any stones found in the dry beans. The sofrito is the Cuban flavor base to many dishes – the equivalent of a Mirepoix in French or Western cooking. The Cuban sofrito usually consists of onion, bell pepper and garlic. In this recipe there is the option of adding a jalapeno or serrano pepper to liven up the beans and add a little kick.
Ingredients:
• 1 lb. of black beans
• 10 cups of water
• 1 large bell pepper
• 1 large chili pepper (jalapeno or serrano- optional)
• ¾ cup of olive oil
• 1 large onion
• 4 cloves of garlic
• 4 teaspoons of salt
• ½ teaspoon of pepper
• ½ teaspoon of oregano
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 tablespoons white sugar
• 2 tablespoons vinegar
• 2 tablespoons dry wine
Instructions:
Wash the beans and soak them in water with a large chili pepper. When they are well swollen, cook them in the same water until they soften (approximately for about 45 minutes).
In a hot pan with oil, sauté chopped onion, crushed garlic, and also chopped chili pepper. Pour approximately one cup of beans into the pan and mash them well. Pour everything into the casserole with the rest of the beans. Add salt, pepper, oregano, bay leaf, and sugar to it. Let it boil for about an hour more. Then add vinegar and dry wine and cook on low heat for another hour until they are well cooked. If you see that they still have a lot of liquid when covered, uncover them and add two tablespoons of oil. This recipe serves approximately eight portions.