Veracruz Black Beans with Plantain

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Heavy 5-quart clay cazuela or Dutch oven
• •Cast iron skillet or comal for frying the plantain
• •Wooden spoon for mashing beans against the side of the pot
• •Hand-thrown clay bowls for serving

Instructions

1. 1

   Cook the beans

   Put the black beans in a heavy pot with 10 cups water, the half onion, 2 whole garlic cloves, and one epazote sprig. Bring to a steady simmer, then lower the heat so the beans move gently. Cook uncovered until the beans are tender, 1 hour 45 minutes to 2 hours, adding hot water if the level drops below the beans. Salt goes in only after the beans begin to soften. Tough beans are usually impatient beans.

2. 2

   Season the pot

   When the beans are tender but not collapsing, add 2 teaspoons kosher salt and the second epazote sprig. Simmer 15 minutes more. The broth should taste dark, herbal, and a little earthy from the epazote. Remove the onion half, whole garlic cloves, and the older epazote stems.

3. 3

   Fry the plantain

   Melt 1 tablespoon of the manteca in a skillet over medium heat. Add the plátano macho in one layer and fry until the edges are deep gold and the centers are soft, about 2 minutes per side. If the skillet looks dry, add the tablespoon of neutral oil. Do not use a green plantain here. Veracruz wants the ripe sweetness against the black bean broth.

   The plantain should be yellow with black spots. Fully black is too soft for this pot. Green belongs to a different preparation. Cada estado, su propia cocina.
4. 4

   Build the sofrito

   In the same skillet, add the remaining tablespoon of manteca. Stir in the finely chopped onion and cook until translucent, about 4 minutes. Add the chopped garlic and chile jalapeño and cook 1 minute more, just until the garlic smells sharp and sweet. La manteca es el sabor, especially in beans. Oil works in some dishes. Here, the lard carries the onion and chile into the broth.

5. 5

   Thicken the caldo

   Scoop 1 cup of cooked beans into the skillet with the sofrito and mash them roughly with the back of a spoon. Stir this dark paste back into the pot. This is how you give the caldo body without flour, cream, or nonsense. Simmer 10 minutes, until the broth lightly coats the spoon but still eats like a soupy stew.

6. 6

   Add the plantain

   Slide the fried plantain into the pot and simmer 5 minutes, just long enough for the edges to drink some bean broth without falling apart. Taste for salt. The final spoonful should be black bean first, ripe plantain second, epazote in the background, and jalapeño as a small clean bite, not a dare.

7. 7

   Serve Veracruz style

   Ladle into clay bowls. Scatter queso fresco and chopped cilantro over the top and put lime halves on the table. Serve with warm corn tortillas. Not flour tortillas. Flour belongs to the north, and Veracruz knows perfectly well what it is doing. Recetas probadas y garantizadas.

Chef Tips

• •Buy black beans from a market with turnover. Old beans take forever and cook unevenly. Pregúntale a las señoras del mercado. They know which sacks arrived this week.
• •Epazote is not optional decoration. It gives the bean broth its Veracruz backbone and helps the pot taste clean instead of flat. If you cannot find fresh epazote, use 1 teaspoon dried epazote, but understand the compromise.
• •Use ripe plátano macho, not banana. Banana collapses and perfumes the pot like dessert. Plátano macho has starch and structure, which is why it can sit in the caldo without losing itself.
• •If you want a faster weeknight version, cook the beans in a pressure cooker for about 35 minutes under pressure, then finish the sofrito and plantain the same way. A pressure cooker is a tool, not a betrayal.

Advance Preparation

• •The black beans can be cooked up to three days ahead with onion, garlic, and epazote. Refrigerate them in their broth, then finish with the sofrito and fried plantain on the day you serve.
• •Do not add the fried plantain days ahead. It will soften too much. Fry and add it during the final 5 minutes so it keeps its shape.
• •Leftovers keep refrigerated for four days. Add a splash of water when reheating because the mashed beans thicken as they rest.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 365g)