Episode 13

When I first discovered this recipe, I became absolutely obsessed with it. I would make a batch and bring it to school along with a container of grated cheese and a bag of tortillas to share the wealth with my friends. They were most appreciative. This recipe freezes beautifully (not that there will be many leftovers). There are a myriad of different ways to eat these beans; they’re great with corn tortillas, flour tortillas, corn chips, sopes, rice, bread, vegetables, guacamole, and, really, anything you feel like.

Ingredients

• 500 grams or 1 pound of dried black beans
• 8 cups water
• ¼ cup olive oil
• 1 onion
• 1 green pepper
• 1 orange, red, or yellow pepper
• 1 carrot
• 2 bay leaves
• 6 cloves garlic, diced
• ¼ tsp chili powder
• ½ tsp cumin
• 1 tsp oregano
• Salt to taste
• 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
• 1-2 teaspoons honey

Instructions

Rinse your beans well, cover with water, and soak in a large bowl for over 5 hours. This is ideal to do overnight. You need the beans to double in size.

Drain the slightly softened and enlarged beans, rinse well, and place in a large pot. Cover with 8 cups of water, cover, and bring to a boil. Once it’s boiling, reduce the heat to low, and simmer for 35 minutes before working on your vegetable mix.

In a medium pan, heat olive oil and sauté onion, green pepper, red, orange, or yellow pepper, and carrot until softened. This should take around 10 minutes. Then add bay leaves, diced garlic, chili powder, cumin, and oregano.

Once the garlic is cooked and the spices are fragrant (1-2 minutes), put the vegetable mix into your pot of beans, raise the heat slightly, and leave to simmer for 1½ hours uncovered.

Then it’s time to season very well with salt and white wine vinegar. It’s crucial to only add the salt at the end. If you add it too early, it will toughen the beans’ skin and prevent them from softening. When added when the beans are wonderfully mushy, they will stay soft and delicious.

Enjoy in good company.