Cuban-Style Beans

Black beans, red beans and chickpeas are a staple in Cuban cuisine

In this blog you will find recipes for:

• Cuban-style black beans (frijoles negros)
• Cuban-style red beans (frijoles colorados)
• Cuban-style chickpeas (garbanzos)
• Fried ripe and green plantains (platanos maduros and tostones)

And answers to:

• What are culantro leaves (not cilantro)?
• What is the difference between plantains and bananas?

On my first trip to Miami, I was introduced to black beans. I wanted to order something typical in a restaurant and chose the Cuban black beans with rice and a meat stew. I remember vividly receiving the order and being confused because it looked like they forgot the beans but brought coffee instead (honestly!). My plate was filled with white rice and meat stew and the black beans were served in a coffee cup and it took me a moment to realize what it actually was. I tried it and was hooked. Years later, sitting in my mother-in-law’s kitchen in Miami, I learned how to make all types of Cuban dried bean dishes. Cuban food tends to be on the heavy side, but with a few alterations and select choices of what is available, it can be healthy and still extremely tasty.

Of course, you can add green olives or potatoes and other root vegetables or pumpkin or anything else you like. I have eaten Cuban beans in many varieties, but mine are usually quite basic as you can see in the photo above.  Some Cuban cooks take about ½ cup of the bean stew and puree it and then put it back to get a thicker consistency of the liquid. 

How much does a 12 oz bag of dried beans yield?

One 12 oz bag of dried beans yields about 8 servings. These beans are great to re-heat and can be frozen.

Culantro Leaves

Culantro is a green herb with long serrated leaves, mainly grown and used in the Caribbean in stews and soups, especially for dried beans. Its flavor is stronger than that of its cousin cilantro. Blended with olive oil, garlic and onions it makes a delicious marinade for meats. It is also used in Asian cuisine and often served along with Pho. It is mainly used fresh and I have never seen it sold dried. If you cannot find culantro, you can use cilantro although the flavor is different. I usually chop the leaves because they are very strong in taste if you leave large pieces or entire leaves.

Culantro is rich in calcium and contains iron, riboflavin and carotene. According to research at Purdue University, it can be prepared as a tea to help fight the flu, diabetes, constipation, and fever.

Cuban-Style Black Beans

The typical Cuban “frijoles negros” are made with fatty pork, but I leave that out, so the result is not “Cuban” but “Cuban-style”. The rest of the ingredients are just as my mother-in-law used them in her recipe.

I like to use dried beans, but canned black beans work as well, just make sure you buy a can only containing organic black beans, sea salt and water. I usually  have a few cans in my pantry just in case I need a quick meal. For canned beans you can reduce the cooking time to around 30 minutes.

Preparation time is about 20 to 30 minutes, the beans soak for 2 hours

cooking time is 2 hours

One 12 oz bag of dried beans yields about 8 servings. These beans are great to re-heat and can be frozen.

Ingredients:

• 1  12 oz bag black beans and water to soak
• 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1  medium onion, diced
• 3  garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
• 1  green bell pepper, diced
• 3-4 culantro leaves, chopped
• ½ cup roasted red bell pepper (glass), diced
• ½ teaspoon oregano
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Rinse the black beans and put in a bowl, cover with water and let soak for 2 hours. Meanwhile, prepare all the other ingredients, add more water to the beans if necessary. To cook the beans, heat the olive oil in a medium to large saucepan and saute the onions until translucent. Add the garlic, stir for a few seconds and then add the beans with the water. I use the soaking water if the beans do not soak for longer than 2 hours. When the water starts to bubble, the beans are fermenting and I rinse them before cooking and add fresh water to the saucepan. Add all other ingredients and let the beans simmer over low to medium heat for 1 ½ to 2 hours, depending how you like the beans. Try them after 1 ½ hours. After 1 ½ hours the beans still have some firmness to them. My family likes them very soft so I usually let them simmer for 2 hours.

Cuban-Style Red Beans

Ingredients:

• 1  12 oz bag of red kidney beans and water to soak
• 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1  medium onion, diced
• 3  garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
• 1  green bell pepper, diced
• 3-4 culantro leaves, chopped
• ½ cup roasted red bell pepper (glass), diced
• 2 cups of organic pureed tomatoes
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Rinse the red beans and put in a bowl, cover with water and let soak for 2 hours. Meanwhile, prepare all the other ingredients, add more water to the beans if necessary. To cook the beans, heat the olive oil in a medium to large saucepan and saute the onions until translucent. Add the garlic, stir for a few seconds and then add the beans and about 1 cup of water and the tomato puree. Add all other ingredients and let the beans simmer over low to medium heat for 1 ½ to 2 hours, depending how soft you like the beans. Check once in a while and add more water if necessary. The beans should be covered with liquid while simmering.

Chickpea Stew

Chickpeas are a favorite in my family. They are extremely versatile and perfect for many different recipes. I will have an entire blog dedicated to chickpeas in the future, but still have to work on recipes and photos. For now this is a healthy and very tasty version of a typical Cuban chickpea stew. I apologize to my Cuban family if I butchered the recipe, but it passed my Cuban husband’s taste test and he is my most truthful critic.

Ingredients:

• 1  12 oz bag of chickpeas and water to soak
• 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1  medium onion, diced
• 3  garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
• 1  green bell pepper, diced
• 3-4 culantro leaves, chopped
• ½ cup roasted red bell pepper (glass), diced
• 1 large can of whole organic plum tomatoes 
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Rinse the chickpeas and put in a bowl, cover with water and let soak overnight. Make sure to put enough water so that the beans can soak some of it and still be covered.

When you are ready to cook the chickpeas, drain and rinse them well. Prepare all the other ingredients. To cook the beans, heat the olive oil in a medium to large saucepan and saute the onions until translucent. Add the garlic, stir for a few seconds and then add the beans and the canned tomatoes with liquid (chop them first or just squish them in your hand as you add them to the saucepan). Add water until the beans are well covered. Add all other ingredients and let the beans simmer over low to medium heat for 1 ½ to 2 hours, depending how soft you like the beans. Check once in a while and add more water if necessary. The beans should be covered with liquid while simmering.

Plantains

After I returned to Germany after my first trip to Miami I tried to make fried bananas and wondered why it did not work. Well, in those 2 weeks in Miami I did not learn the difference between plantains and bananas. They do look very similar, but plantains are larger and firmer and are also sold green and they are perfect for cooking. You cannot really eat them like a banana because they have a very firm consistency and are usually not as sweet.

Fried Sweet Plantains (Platanos Maduros or simply Maduros)

To fry ripe plantains you simply peel them and cut them into slices or even lengthwise and fry them in avocado oil until they turn slightly brown. They should be sweet and soft and make a great side for any Cuban-style bean dish.

Fried Green Plantains (Tostones)

Green plantains need to be peeled with a knife as the skin does not separate easily from the meat of the fruit. They also need to be fried twice to get the large crispy rounds.

First cut the skin off the green plantains with a knife and then cut them into approximately 1 inch slices. Fry a few slices at a time until they are slightly browned and soft. Take them out of the pan and press them in a plantain press or between two pieces of wood or plastic (you can use small cutting boards), then return them to the pan and fry them again until brown and crispy. Take out of the pan and put on a paper towel to soak up the oil. Serve with a drizzle of salt.

Is Cuban Food Healthy?

I thought for a long time that Cuban food is just too heavy and unhealthy, but that is not entirely true. It can be a healthy choice, like the dried bean stews can be eaten as soups by themselves or served with chickpea orzo (rice alternative available on Amazon) or brown rice. Plantains, when cooked in avocado oil are quite healthy (ripe plantains contain a lot of sugar though) and all of it served with a lean piece of 100% grass-fed meat, organic free-range chicken or fish can make a healthy meal.

Happy cooking 🙂

You can find more recipes on my blog www.foodiewithpurpose.com