Cuban Black Beans

This dish is one that Brit and I have made before and it was delicious. It's very simple to make, though takes several hours, and is full of flavor.

Cuban Black Beans

Serves 6

1 lb bag black beans, soaked and rinsed
Olive oil
2 onions, diced
8 cloves garlic, minced and divided in half (as usual, we doubled the amount of garlic)
1 bunch cilantro, minced
Salt

The beans can soak overnight or start first thing in the morning. Be sure to soak the beans in a lot of water. Drain and set aside.

In a large pot, saute the onions until soft and then add half of the minced garlic. Add the beans and enough water to cover everything by an inch. Bring the pot to a boil, cover (though leaving a small crack), reduce the heat, and simmer for an hour.

Stir the beans and add the remaining garlic and cilantro. Keep the lid removed, return to a simmer and cook another hour (or longer if necessary) while occasionally stirring until the beans are fully tender and the mixture is thick.

I didn't think that the beans had fully cooked after simmering for the final hour, though all of the water had been absorbed/evaporated. For this meal, the beans had been cooked the night before, so while the rest of the meal was being prepared, I added several small amounts of chicken stock and allowed the beans to keep cooking for another 30 minutes until they were tender.
Once the beans are tender, season with salt to taste.

We paired this dish with some brown rice, topped it with some avacado slices and some chipotle cream that Brit made. The chipotle cream (made from milk, ricotta cheese, chipotle in adobo sauce, and minced garlic) had a weird consistency and texture which we didn't like, but when mixed with the black beans added a really nice spicy flavor.