Cuban-style Black Beans & Rice

By bakers_delight85

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups dry black beans
• 4 cups water
• 1 small onion, halved
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 cups chopped onions
• 1 to 2 fresh jalapeno peppers, seeded and finely chopped
• 3 Tbsp. cooking oil or olive oil
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tsp. ground cumin
• 2 tsp. finely shredded lime peel
• 3/4 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. pepper
• Hot cooked brown rice
• Fresh cilantro sprigs (optional)
• Fresh jalapeno pepper slices (optional)
• Lime wedges (optional)

Preparation

Step 1

Rinse dry beans. To soak beans, place beans in water in saucepan. Cover and let soak in a cool place overnight. Drain and rinse beans.
Return beans to saucepan or Dutch oven. Add 4 cups of water, onion halves, and bay leaves. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, covered, for 1 ¼ to 1 ½ hours or until beans are tender. Remove and discard onion halves and bay leaves. Remove about ½ cup of the beans; mash them and return them to bean mixture in saucepan.
In a large skillet cook the 2 cups chopped onions and jalapeno peppers in hot oil over medium heat about 8 minutes or until onions are tender. Stir in garlic, cumin, lime peel, salt, and pepper; cook and stir for 1 to 2 minutes more.
Stir the onion mixture into the bean mixture. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered, for 5 to 10 minutes or until mixture thickens slightly.
Serve bean mixture with hot cooked rice. If desired, garnish with cilantro and serve with jalapeno slices and lime wedges.