1 ½green bell pepper (divided use)stemmed and seeded
10garlic cloves (divided use)
1pounddried black beansrinsed and picked over to remove any stones, soaked overnight
1smoked ham hock
2bay leaves
1tablespoonsaltor to taste
¼cupolive oil
4slicesthick baconcut into 1/2-inch pieces
1Spanish oniondiced
1jalapeñostemmed and finely chopped
1teaspoondried oregano
½teaspoonground cumin
½teaspoonfreshly ground black pepper
3tablespoonsdistilled white vinegar
1tablespoonturbinado or other brown sugar
Instructions
Prepare beans
Cut green pepper into 1-inch squares. Smash and peel 4 garlic cloves. Put the green pepper and garlic into a large pot with the beans, ham hock, bay leaves and 1 tablespoon salt. Add 2 quarts water and bring to a boil. Cover the pot and simmer until the beans are tender, an hour or more.
Prepare Sofrito
Cut the remaining ½ green pepper into ¼-inch dice. Peel and finely chop the remaining garlic. Heat the olive oil in a very large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the bacon and cook, stirring occasionally, until it starts to brown, about 5 minutes. Add the green pepper and onion and cook, stirring, until slightly softened, about 3 minutes. Add remaining garlic, jalapeño, oregano, cumin, black pepper and 2 teaspoons salt and stir for another minute. Pour in the vinegar and scrape any browned bits from bottom of pan with a wooden spoon. Puree if desired.
Assembly
When the beans are cooked, discard the bay leaf. Remove and set aside the ham hock and let it cool. Transfer 1 cup of beans to small bowl, mash them into a paste with the back of a fork and return to the pot. Add the sofrito, then the sugar. Pull the meat from the ham hock, leaving behind any white sinew or gristle. Chop the ham into ½-inch pieces and return it to the bean pot.
Stir the beans well and bring to a boil over medium heat, then lower to a simmer and cook, uncovered, for 20 minutes or so, skimming any foam from the top. Taste for salt and serve with white rice.
Notes
Sofrito is the secret ingredient in many Latin Caribbean dishes, like alcapurrias.
It's a versatile, aromatic puree of tomatoes, peppers, cilantro, onions, and garlic
It's known as recaito in Puerto Rico, where they don't typically use tomatoes, and so it takes on a more pronounced green color instead.
Cuban sofrito rarely contains tomatoes
The word sofrito is Spanish and means to lightly fry something, such as by sautéing or stir-frying. But this refers to how it is used in a recipe rather than how it is made. It's often the first thing to go into the pan or cooking pot and can be sautéed to bring out the flavors of the aromatics.