Cuban Black Beans in the Crockpot
Hubby loves to cook some of the Cuban foods he grew up eating. We eat rice and beans on a regular basis. He never makes black beans and I decided to give this recipe a shot. Since we don’t have a pressure cooker, I adapted the original recipe for the crockpot. Most crockpot recipes really can be cooked all day. This isn’t one of those recipes. If you let it cook all day, the beans will become mushy.
The Sazon completa (aka Complete Seasoning) is necessary to bring out the flavor of the beans. It really makes this dish. You can probably find it near the Spanish foods at your grocery store. Ours sells little packets of the seasoning which is perfect.
One Year Ago: Banana Split Cupcakes
Two Years Ago: Blueberry Buckle
Cuban Black Beans
Yield: 8
Ingredients:
1 pound dried black beans
8 cups water
2 Tbsp olive oil
6 slices of good-quality bacon, chopped into 1 inch pieces
1 1/2 cups chopped onion
1 1/2 cups chopped green bell pepper
4 cloves garlic, minced
Olive oil for sautéing
1 Tbsp Sazon completa
1 Tbsp ground cumin
2 bay leaf
1/2 cup dry cooking wine
2 Tbsp white wine vinegar
Chopped cilantro for garnish
Salt & pepper to taste
1/2 tsp baking soda
Directions:
Pick over the beans carefully and rinse well. Combine dried black beans with water in crockpot. Cover and let stand overnight. Make sure the water is covering the beans.
The next day, cook the beans on low for 4 hours.
Prepare the sofrito: Add a tablespoon of olive oil to a medium-heat frying pan and sauté the bacon slices until par-crispy. Then remove the bacon and add the onions and bell peppers. Cook until translucent and add the chopped garlic and cook for an additional minute. Season with salt and pepper.
When the beans have cooled slightly, add the sofrito, bacon pieces, cumin, sazon complete, vinegar, cooking wine, baking soda and bay leaves. Cook on low heat for another hour, stirring occasionally. Add additional salt and pepper to taste.
Remove the bay leaves & garnish with chopped cilantro and serve the frijoles negros over white rice.
Recipe adapted from Mrs Regueiro's Plate
I am Jen the Beantown Baker. Engineer by day and baking maven by night. Hubby serves as my #1 fan and official taste tester. We got hitched back in 2006. Barefoot. In the sand. With the waves crashing behind us. It was one of the best decisions we’ve ever made. 
I love a good indian spiced dish – this looks great, and would be perfect to eat at lunchtime!
this sounds great- so quick and full of flavor, perfect for weekday lunches! hope things are going well in cinci!
beantownbaker — February 24th, 2013 @ 10:25 am
Thanks – things are starting to get settled here. We are closing on a house in a few weeks, so we’ll be moving again soon. Hope all is going well for you back in Boston!
I hope you are finding Ohio welcoming…even though it’s cold! These chickpeas seem like the perfect dish to help you feel warm and cozy.
beantownbaker — February 24th, 2013 @ 10:26 am
Thanks! We are finding Ohio welcoming. Everyone here is so nice (even if they can’t merge in to traffic to save their life…)
Chick peas and spinach – always make for a delicious and hearty meal! Definitely a good choice.
Is there a substitute for garam masala?
beantownbaker — February 24th, 2013 @ 10:28 am
Garam Masala has a unique flavor, but it is made from a combination of other spices so I’m sure you could find a substitute on the internet somewhere…
This is the perfect go-to recipe for a busy lifestyle…healthful, tasty and so easy to throw together! I hope things settle down for you and your hubs and your place begins feeling more warm and cozy! Meanwhile, you have a delicious satisfying recipe to comfort you!
beantownbaker — March 9th, 2013 @ 3:01 pm
So true!
Oh yum, this looks so warming and delicious!