Chayyei Sarah Food Blogs: Cuban Bean Soup

In an effort to use up kitniyot before Pesach*, I'm making a cuban bean soup for dinner tonight, and it looks like it's going to be really good, so I'm sharing the recipe with y'all.

This recipe was adapted from Randelman & Schwartz's Memories of a Cuban Kitchen, included on one of those old MasterCook CD's, and then found (and further adapted) by me on some random cooking site on the internet when I Googled "red bean recipe."

It looks like a huge production, but in actuality was not a big deal to put together, IMHO. Just remember to soak the beans the night before.

Ingredients:

1 lb (or one 500 gram bag) red kidney beans, soaked

2 quarts water

1 bay leaf

1 large green bell pepper, seeded and quartered (I chopped it)

                   

-----SOFRITO-----

1/4 cup olive oil

4 garlic cloves, chopped

1 large onion, chopped

1 large green bell pepper, diced

1 cup tomatoes, coarsely chopped

1 tblspn red wine vinegar (I used balsamic)

1/2 cup dry sherry (I used a cheap red wine)

1/2 tsp oregano

1/2 tsp cumin

Salt & pepper

-----TO FINISH-----

2 medium potatoes, diced

1 cup butternut squash, diced

(instead of the potatoes and squash, I'm using a large sweet potato; hope it's OK!)

Olive oil to taste

INSTRUCTIONS:



Combine beans, water bell pepper & salt, bring to a boil & simmer for 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

Add more water as needed.

(Sarah adds: They seem to have forgotten the bay leaf. I included it at this stage)

SOFRITO: Heat oil in a skillet, saute the garlic, onion & bell pepper till tender.  

Add tomatoes, vinegar, sherry, oregano, cumin, salt & pepper.

Cook 10 minutes.

When beans are tender, add the sofrito, potatoes & squash

(Sarah's note: I took out the bay leaf first).  

Stir to blend, & cook over a low heat until the potatoes & squash are tender.  

Either serve as is or puree.  

Drizzle some olive oil over each serving.

Shabbat shalom!

*I know I don't have to use up all my kitniyot, just set them aside, but it's a good time to be using up the non-perishables that have been sitting around. Plus, in general, regarding the stuff we're selling --which might include the kitniyot, since it's just easier to put all the hametz and kitniyot together-- we sell everything to Liz (with an official contract), who -- this is so cool-- actually does have a key to our apartment and actually does come by to take her newly-purchased hametz for herself. So anything we don't use now may very well end up on Liz's table in Ossawiya.