I don’t normally cook up a pot of beans on a hot summer day but this week I had a craving for Cuban Red Beans. Now, this is a work in progress to come close to a dish of red beans I enjoyed in Viñales, Cuba, which was one of the most delicious bowls of beans I’ve ever tasted. This pot of Cuban Red Beans was pretty darn good but I think there is room for improvement!
Regardless, I’ll share the recipe and update you as I make revisions. This recipe for Cuban Red Beans has potatoes, quite a tasty addition to a pot of beans. The beans I had in Cuba did not have potatoes. I rather liked the potatoes in mine. It’s the flavor that I need to enhance. I suspect it may be the lack of peppers in the following recipe. I’m certain the bowl of beans in Cuba had peppers. I am not a fan of green bell peppers but I think I’ll try red bell pepper as an addition next time.
I made this recipe using ingredients I had on hand. My trips to the grocery are few and far between nowadays – thank you COVID19. Another recipe using red beans is called Frijoles Colorado which uses calabaza, butternut squash or pumpkin and chorizo. I didn’t have those ingredients on hand. What I did have was a ham hock in the freezer. The ham hock lent a bit of that salty pork flavor I would expect. The recipe I am attempting to duplicate did not have potatoes, squash or chorizo. But, Frijoles Colorado does sound tempting and I plan on giving it a try soon too.
Above is a photo of the meal I enjoyed in Viñales and the delicious bowl of red beans. I notice now that there seems to be a piece red bell pepper peeking out from that bowl. I will be adding red pepper on my next attempt at Cuban Red Beans. Served with rice, I got that part right! The recipe made enough for leftovers and I plan on baking some cornbread to serve with the beans on leftover night. Using cornbread sounds more like Texas than Cuba, but hey! Born and raised in Texas!
I loved the colorfully set table with the traditional Cuban dish of Ropa Vieja, red beans, chips and string beans. I noticed that string or green beans made their way to a few meals I ate in Cuba. Not a problem for me. Cubans are not accustomed to the variety of food we enjoy here in the U.S. They are very good at making good use of what they do have – so green beans at many meals it is!
Another recipe I want to try is Ropa Vieja, the national dish of Cuba. Ropa Vieja translates to “old clothes” in English. A rustic, humble dish there is an interesting story behind Ropa Vieja. Over 500 years old the recipe originated in Spain and traveled to the Americas where it became a popular dish in the Caribbean and Cuba. The fascinating story is that a penniless old man shredded and cooked his clothes because he could not afford to feed his family. He prayed over the bubbling concoction and a miracle occurred, turning the mixture into a tasty, rich meat stew. I do not know if this story is factual but fun nonetheless. I’ll be attempting Ropa Vieja soon and sharing the recipe with you.
- 12-14 ounces dried small red beans
- 10 cups of water plus water for soaking
- 1-2 Ham Hocks
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 medium onion finely diced
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 3-4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 teaspoon Kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 bay leaf
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 red potatoes, cubed
- Sort through the beans and remove any foreign objects.
- Rinse the beans, add them to a large pot or bowl and cover with 3-4 cups water; let the beans soak overnight.
- Drain and rinse and they are ready to cook.
- For a quicker soaking method, sort and rinse, add the beans and 6 cups of water to a large pot.
- Bring the water to a boil and boil for 2 minutes.
- Remove the pot from the heat, cover and set aside for one hour.
- Drain and rinse the beans, now they are ready to cook.
- Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat.
- Add the onion and cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently.
- Add the tomato paste, garlic, salt, oregano, cumin, bay leaf and black pepper, stir well to combine.
- Cook 1 minute, stirring constantly.
- Remove from heat.
- Add the soaked beans, 10 cups of water, ham hock and the prepared onion mixture to a large pot.
- Stir well to combine.
- Bring the water to a boil, reduce the heat to medium-low, cover and simmer for one hour, stirring occasionally.
- Uncover the beans, remove the ham hock and allow it too cool.
- Cover the beans and continue cooking.
- When the ham hock is cool enough to handle, remove the meat from the bone and chop into bite sized pieces then return to the pot.
- Continue to cook the beans for another 15-20 minutes, taste to see if they are soft.
- If the beans are still firm, cover the pot and continue coking for another 30 minutes.
- Continue tasting and cooking until beans are soft - not mushy!
- If there is too much liquid remaining in the pot remove the lid and continue to simmer until they are a pleasing consistency.
- Add salt and pepper to taste if needed.
