A Cuban-themed dinner graced the table at Chez this week and the star of the evening was the mighty flavorful, Cuban-style Black Beans. The key to this dish is the cumin seeds, roasted in a cast iron frying pan and then doing a fine grind in either a spice grinder or a coffee grinder. If you never had fresh ground cumin, you have to give it a try. It blows 'store bought' cumin out of the water and has a level of smokiness that has to tasted to be believed.INGREDIENTS:
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 1 large green bell pepper, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
- 6 large garlic cloves, chopped
- 1 tablespoon dried oregano
- 1 tbs freshly roasted and ground cumin
- 3 15- to 16-ounce cans black beans, rinsed, drained
- 1 cup minced smoked pork chop
- 1 cup vegetable broth
- 1 1/2 tablespoons cider vinegar
- Heat oil in heavy large saucepan over medium heat.
- Add onion, bell pepper, garlic and oregano and sauté until vegetables begin to soften, about 5 minutes.
- Add 1 cup of beans to pan. Using back of fork, mash beans coarsely.
- Add cumin, remaining beans, pork chop, broth and vinegar and simmer until mixture thickens and flavors blend, stirring occasionally, about 15 minutes.
- Season beans to taste with salt and pepper and serve
