Cuban Black Beans .... and Rice of Course!

I was making this fantastic Cuban Pork Roast for dinner tonight and wanted some Cuban Black Beans to go with it. I Googled and saw the pattern:

some sugar
some vinegar
some alcohol (wine or rum)
some sauteed onion, green pepper, and garlic added after an hour of cooking the beans in water
dried herbs including oregano and a bay leaf for sure, cumin possibly
hot sauce either at the table or in the beans as they cooked

So here's what I did.

1 pound black beans
water to cover plus 2" (I didn't measure)
1 green pepper, chopped

1/3 cup olive oil
another green pepper, diced
1 onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed

1 Tbs salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1 rounded teaspoon sugar
1 bay leaf

3 Tbs red wine vinegar
1/4 cup rum

Soak the beans and the first green pepper in the water. You could do this overnight. I just threw the beans and the chopped green pepper in the water this morning and left it there till 3:30pm when I came down to start them cooking. I did drain the beans and add new water. That's optional. Just make sure you cover the beans plus 2" of water when you start them cooking.

Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook an hour.

At some point during this time saute the second green pepper, onion, and garlic in the olive oil until soft.

After the beans have cooked an hour, add the cooked pepper, onion, and garlic to them. Add the salt, pepper, oregano, sugar, and bay leaf. Cook another hour, covered, at a simmer.

Stir in the vinegar and alcohol. One recipe called for 2 Tbs wine, which I hardly think would be noticeable. Another called for 1/2 cup dark rum. I went for something in between. I used rum in the marinade for the pork, so I opted for the rum but slightly less than 1/2 cup, although I think the 1/2 cup would have been fine. Cook, covered, another hour.

You're probably left with a lot of broth at this point. Take the cover off and simmer until it thickens up. Use a potato masher to mash up some of the beans to thicken it.

These were really good! I served them over white rice with the sliced pork. What a feast.

In another day we'll have Cuban Pork Sandwiches with the leftover roast. I saved the juices from the roast to make the mojo sauce.

Braised Red Cabbage and Onions

I grew red cabbage in the garden this winter. It's quite pretty but then I was at a bit of a loss as to what to do with it! I picked the first one yesterday and turned to Vegetables Every Day: The Definitive Guide to Buying and Cooking Today's Produce With over 350 Recipes, a great source of vegetable recipes that another food blogger recommended. (Sorry, I can't remember who to thank for the great referral!). His original recipe called for 1 medium head red cabbage which was supposed to yield about 10 cups sliced cabbage. My cabbage was a bit smaller so I cut portions down accordingly. I didn't measure how many cups it produced but would guess about 6.

2 Tbs olive oil
1 onion, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 small head red cabbage, cored and thinly sliced
salt and pepper to taste
3/4 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup fresh parsley, minced
2 Tbs balsamic vinegar

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and cook about 8-10 minutes, until golden and soft. Add the garlic and cook another minute, then stir in the cabbage and season with salt and pepper to taste. Cover and cook, stirring periodically, about 5 minutes.

Add the chicken broth, stir, cover, and cook until the cabbage is tender, another 10 minutes or so. Uncover and cook until the liquid evaporates. Stir in the parsley and balsamic vinegar. Taste and add more salt or pepper if needed.

Lemon Pepper Chicken and Artichokes

This was a combination of two recipes that were side by side in a community cookbook I picked up somewhere. I've been playing more with lemon pepper these days somehow and really like how it perks up a dish. My lemon tree is finally delivering fresh lemons again and I enjoyed its bounty in every course yesterday, finishing the meal with some great lemon bread.

2 Tbs butter
2 Tbs olive oil
6 chicken thighs

2 cloves garlic, minced
juice of one lemon
1/3 cup white wine
1/3 cup chicken broth
lemon pepper and salt to taste

2-3 Tbs capers, drained
1 15 ounce can artichoke hearts, drained

Heat the butter and oil in a large skillet over medium heat and brown the chicken thighs. Add the garlic, lemon juice, wine, and broth to the pan and stir, turning each piece of chicken to coat it and ending skin side up. Sprinkle the chicken with lemon pepper and salt.

Cover and cook 25-30 minutes, until the chicken is done.

Take the lid off and add the capers and artichoke hearts, stirring and warming through.

Buttermilk Pancakes

I will use the powdered buttermilk when I haven't planned ahead and it works fine...but it's not as good as real buttermilk. I bought some real buttermilk last week and hadn't gotten around to using it in anything. This morning, freshly returned from a nice Spring break at Disneyland, I decided buttermilk pancakes were in order for breakfast. This comes from one of my perennial favorites authors, Marion Cunningham, who I believe is quite local (Walnut Creek, just about 25 minutes north of here). Breakfast Book has a great collection of breakfast recipes.

1 cup buttermilk
1 egg
3 Tbs melted butter
3/4 cup flour
1/4 tsp salt (she calls for a 1/2 but I typically do a rounded 1/4)
1 tsp baking soda

Mix together the buttermilk, egg, and melted butter until smooth.

Add the flour, salt, and baking soda (sprinkling the soda and salt so you don't get clumps), then stir until just blended. Lumps are okay.

Heat a griddle or skillet. Use a 1/4 cup measuring cup to pour the batter on. Cook until the bubbles that form stay a bit and break open. Turn and cook another short bit.

Kumquats

Kumquats are an interesting fruit. They look like a small oval orange, about as big as the first joint of your thumb. Unlike an orange, it's the peel that's sweet while the inside flesh is a bit sour. If you like candied orange peels, you'd probably love these. They have a bit of pucker power but are sweet at the same time. My parents have a kumquat tree and brought a small bag down with them when they joined us recently to celebrate my dad's birthday.

I had already picked out a magnificent piece of salmon and decided to cook it a la Jacque Pepin again, topped with a hazelnut breadcrumb mix and cooked in a very slow oven. I often serve salmon topped with mango salsa but since we had the kumquats my mom cooked them up. Mmmm....

She sliced the kumquats in half and then just simmered them a few minute in a bit of white wine. They really didn't need anything else!

I see Elise at Simply Recipes has a kumquat salsa recipe posted. I may try that next!