Recipe - Cuban Black Bean Stew

1 pound Black Beans, Uncooked
1 cup Onion, Chopped
1 tablespoon Butter
4 cup Water
Bouillon Cube, Beef
12 ounce Cooked Lean Ham
2 Bay Leaves
One half teaspoon Thyme
One half teaspoon Oregano
One half teaspoon Salt
1 Whole Dried Red Pepper
1 cup Chopped Bell Pepper
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 until tender but not browned. Add soaked beans,
4 cups water, bouillon cube, ham (cut into chunks), bay leaves, thyme,
oregano, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce heat. Cover and simmer
until beans are tender, 1 to 1One half hours. Remove 1 cup of beans from pot
and mash with a potato masher or fork. Add mashed beans back into pot and
stir to thicken. Remove ham chunks and dice. Remove bay leaves and red
pepper, if used and discard. Add minced ham, green pepper and rum to beans.
Cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Serve beans over rice and top with sour
cream if desired.
Posted to MMRecipes Digest V4 #299 by roy@indy.net (Roy) on Nov 19, 1997