Beans

Beans have been cooked in the New World for a very long time. Among Eastern Woodland tribes like the Iroquois they were one of the "three sisters": corn, beans and squash. Mexican re-fried beans are the descendant of Aztec cookery. Rice and beans are a staple of Puerto Rican cuisine. There are several staples that form the center of a meal in the Caribbean. Plantains are another one of these, and the many types of tubers the New World is so famous for, are yet another. As per my parents, in Puerto Rico in the old days, the principal staple was vianda or indigenous tubers like yucca, malanga, yautia, and others. Unlike the rest of the Americas, maize was not the principal crop of the Taino ancestors. Nevertheless, in my home rice and beans were the primary center of our meals. In America what was reserved for Sunday dinner became standard. Most folks use canned beans these days. This is because dry beans on the shelves of the Goya section of the supermarket take a long time to prepare. Nevertheless, it is always best to learn the right way. One can always take shortcuts later.

Dry beans are cheaper and fresher than the canned, pre-cooked variety. However, there are some steps in their preparation that cannot be avoided. The first is soaking. The beans must be soaked in clean, fresh water for at least 8 hours--the package may say six, but trust me, eight is better. They should be soaked in a large container with three to four parts water for one part beans. The water should be discarded--it contains indigestibles like "phytin." The beans ought to be rinsed before cooking. The recipe is as follows:

a half cup of beans (soaked it will increase to a cup)
2 tbsp. of tomato paste
two cubes of sofrito
salt to taste
a pork neck bone or jamon de cocinar (cooking ham)
1 tbsp. mojito (garlic cloves crushed with vinegar and olive oil)
Calabaza, if desired
Plantains, grated and rolled into balls--not unlike "matzoh-balls!" (Again, if desired)

The pork, tomato paste, and salt should be placed in about 5 cups of boiling water and simmered for about 15 minutes. The beans should be added and cooked for at least an hour. Now add the plantains, mojito and calabaza. Cook for an additional 20 minutes and add the sofrito. Continue to cook for another fifteen minutes, then remove and serve over rice. Canned beans reduces the time by about an hour, the water to about 2 cups and the only real cooking is that of the pork, plantains and calabaza (squash). Tender items, like sofrito ought not to be overcooked.