Frijoles Negros (Black Beans) & Refritos

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Frijoles Negros, or black beans, is a staple in Cuban cuisine. It is served with rice to accompany virtually any main course. This recipe provided by Nitza is very basic and flexible. Every family follows a similar recipe, with slight variations. I encourange you to play around with flavors and customizing this recipe to your tastes.

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FRIJOLES NEGROS (BLACK BEANS)

Time: About 8 hours prep, 3.5 hours cooking time
Makes about 8 servings

Part 1:
1 lb. black beans
10 cups water
1 large green pepper*

Part 2:
¾ cup olive oil
1 large onion
4 garlic cloves
1 large green pepper*
4 tsp. salt
½ tsp. pepper
¼ tsp. oregano
1 bay leaf
2 tbsp. white sugar

Part 3:
2 tbsp. vinegar
2 tbsp. cooking wine (vino seco)
2 tbsp. olive oil

*Yes, you need two green peppers.


Prep (Part 1):

  • Weight 1 lb. of beans. Sometimes there may be stones or strange beans in a bag, so in small batches, lay them out on a plate and remove unwanted pieces.
  • In a large pot, wash the beans well with water and drain. Do this rinse about 2-3 times.
  • Pour the 10 cups of water and a quartered green pepper into the pot with the beans.
  • Leave beans to soak until they swell up. This takes about 8 hours, so it is best to leave overnight.


Directions (Parts 2 and 3):

  • When beans are well swollen and without removing anything from the pot, bring to a boil on high heat over a stovetop. As soon as it boils, bring to low heat and leave to cook until they soften slightly, approximately 45 minutes (Towards the end, dice the onion and green pepper for next step).
  • In a frying pan, heat the olive oil on low heat and sauté the diced onion and minced garlic until soft, then add the diced green pepper and saute until soft.
  • Add about one cup of beans (without water) in the pan and mash them in with the onion, garlic, and green pepper.
  • Put everything in the pot with the rest of the beans. 
  • Add salt, pepper, oregano, bay leaf, and sugar. Bring to low heat and cover the pot, leave for 1 hour.
  • Add the vinegar and cooking wine and continue cooking for another hour, with pot covered. 
  • If there is still too much liquid after this, uncovered and allow to cook more until it reduces to desired amount.
  • When ready to serve, add the two tablespoons of olive oil.

 

FRIJOLES NEGROS REFRITOS (REFRIED BLACK BEANS)

If you have left over black beans, refried beans is a great way to use them. Puree the beans using an immersion blender (alternatively, you can force them through a sieve with a masher). In a skillet, add about a tablespoon of oil and cook the bean puree on low, stirring constantly to prevent from sticking to bottom of pan. Let it reduce and become a thick paste. It is delicious when served with sprinkled hard-boiled egg and/or grated cheese. Makes a great dip for chips as well.


Notes & Comments:

  • Frijoles negros can be served straight up as a soup, or served over rice. To make it a simple meal, place a fried egg over the rice and beans.
  • You an skip Part 1 (soaking beans and green pepper overnight) by cooking in a pressure cooker for about 30-40 minutes (you may have to experiment with your pressure cooker). Remove cover and resume Part 2 as normal.
  • These are even better the next day after refrigerating. They also freeze well.
  • I would personally add more salt, vinegar, and olive oil, and reduce/remove the sugar.
  • Normally bay leaves bought it bulk have week flavor. Unless you are using a high quality bay leaf, you can add more to enhance the flavor.
  • I've always learned that garlic should always be added last since it burns easy. I would add onions and green peppers first, then add the minced garlic once they soften.
  • The mashing beans step is unnecessary in my personal opinion, I would skip it next time.
  • Play around with other flavors, like red peppers and other spices.
  • Some people put all the aromatics, aka anything that's not black beans, in a cheese cloth and cooks this in with the beans. When done cooking, you can then squeeze all the juices into the beans. This then allows the black beans to have nothing else floating in it. But personally, I like the chucks of onion and green pepper. 
  • It is also somewhat traditional to use ají cachucha instead of green peppers. These are very small, yet sweet, peppers that can be either chopped finely or added whole. They give a great added flavor, if you can find them (more common down south).

 





Refried Beans:



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Recetas Originales:
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FRIJOLES NEGROS

1 lb. de frijoles negros
10 tazas de agua
1 ají grande

¾ taza aceite de oliva
1 cebolla grande
4 dientes de ajo
1 ají grande
4 cdtas. de sal
½ cdta. de pimienta
¼ cdta. de orégano
1 hoja de laurel
2 cdas. azúcar blanca

2 cdas. de vinagre
2 cdas. vino seco
2 cdas. aceite de oliva

        Lave los frijoles y póngalos a remojar con el agua y un ají. Cuando estén bien hinchados póngalos a cocinar en esa misma agua hasta que se ablanden (aproximadamente 45 minutos). En una sartén caliente el aceite. Sofría la cebolla picadita, ajo machacado y luego el ají también picadito o molido. Eche aproximadamente una taza de frijoles en la sartén y aplástelos bien. Échelo todo en la cazuela con el resto de los frijoles. Añádales sal, pimienta, orégano, laurel y azúcar. Déjelos hervir aproximadamente una hora más. Añádales luego el vinagre, vino seco y cocínelos a fuego lento durante otra hora para que queden bien cuajaditos. Si ve que todavía tienen mucho caldo déjelos destapados para que espesen. Al momento de servirlos añádales las dos cucharadas de aceite. Da aproximadamente 8 raciones.

FRIJOLES NEGROS REFRITOS

        Cuando sobran frijoles negros, quedan muy sabrosos si se pasan por un colador para reducirlos a puré. Luego, en una sartén, ponga una cucharada de aceite y cocine el puré de frijoles revolviéndolo constantemente hasta que se despegue de los lados de la sartén y esté como una pasta bien espesa. Sírvalos polvoreados con huevo duro picadito; también con queso rallado resultan deliciosos.

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