Recipe - Cuban Black Bean Soup

1 pound Beans, dried black
1 cup Onion; chopped
1 tablespoon Margarine or butter
4 cup Water
1 Bouillon cube, beef
12 ounce Ham, cooked lean
2 Bay leaves
One half teaspoon Thyme, dried leaf
One half teaspoon Oregano, dried leaf
One half teaspoon Salt
1 Pepper, dried whole red
1 cup Pepper, green bell; chopped
1/3 cup Dark rum (optional)
1 cup Sour cream (optional)

Sort and soak beans overnight; drain and discard soak water. In a 4quart
pot, saute onion in butter or marg until tender but not browned. Add soaked
beans, 4 cups water, bouillon cube, ham (cut into 46 chunks), bay leaves,
thyme, oregano, salt & red pepper. Bring to boil; reduce heat. Cover and
simmer until beans are tender, 1 to 1One half hour. Remove 1 c. beans from
stew, mash in a bowl with potato masher or fork. Add mashed beans to stew;
stir to thicken. Remove ham and dice. Remove bay leaves and red pepper, if
used and discard. Add minced meat, green pepper and rum (if desired) to
beans. Cover and simmer 15 minutes. Serve beans over rice and top with sour
cream if desired.

From Gemini's MASSIVE MealMaster collection at www.synapse.com/~gemini