This recipe is inspired by the black beans at Sol Food, one of my favorite restaurants in the Bay Area. It pairs beautifully with my recipe for limeade. You can leave out the sour cream or sub it with a plant-based alternative to make it vegan. It’s not a super quick meal, but it makes tons of beans, so you can stock up your freezer.
Edit: I tried prepping the sofrito veg in my food processor and it saves a lot of time. Add the bell pepper, onion and garlic to the bowl of the food processor, then pulse until they’re all finely chopped.
Black bean, coriander, sour cream
500 g dried black beans (soaked for at least six hours in cold water)
1.5 L water
1 large green bell pepper, diced finely
1 medium onion, diced finely
3 cloves of garlic, grated or diced finely
100 ml olive oil
1/4 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp dried oregano (I used Aegean Isle Oregano from Daphnis & Chloe)
2.5 tsp salt (seems like a lot, but it balances out)
25 grinds of black pepper
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
2 tbsp white wine
To serve: sour cream and finely chopped coriander
I cooked the beans in our Instant Pot. You can also use a stove top pressure cooker, or just an ordinary pot (it will take longer on the stovetop). Add the beans and water to the Instant Pot/pressure cooker, and once it’s pressurised, cook the beans for 20-25 minutes.
While the beans cook, prepare your sofrito. Over a medium heat, warm the oil in a medium sauté pan, add the onion, peppers, garlic, cumin, oregano, salt, & black pepper. Cook gently until the onion and peppers are really soft.
Once the beans have cooked, depressurise your pot (or if you’re doing them on the stovetop, check the beans are cooked), and add in your sofrito. Set the Instant Pot on low “sauté” mode, or put your stovetop pot on a medium-low heat, and let the beans simmer away for another 20 minutes. After five minutes add the wine and vinegar. At the end of cooking, taste, and adjust seasoning if necessary.
Serve with long grain rice, chopped fresh coriander and plenty of sour cream. Sliced avocado on the side is also delightful, fried plantains too, if you can get find some.