Saturday, January 2, 2010

Cuban Haystacks (MMM... Beans and Rice)

I've become friends with the school nurse. A little while ago, she gave me the guidelines for what are, seriously the best pintos that I have ever eaten. I don't use those words lightly. I consider myself somewhat of a pinto professional. I've made a hobby of learning different ways of cooking and eating these babies. Even if beans and rice aren't your favorite dish, you'll love these!

Soak one pound bag of pintos in water overnight.

The next morning, drain the water off, picking out any yucky bits that may have floated to the top of the pan and covering the beans with 2 quarts of fresh water.

Now here is what you need:
soy sauce
smoked ham hock (needs to be smoked, very important) found in the "meat cast off" section of your grocery store
onion
cilantro

Using your crockpot:
Add soaked beans to crock pot and cover with 2 quarts fresh water.
Dice one onion and add to the pot
Add smoked ham hock
Add approximately 2 tbsp. soy sauce to beans
Cook all day or about 6 hours on high or until the beans are soft and liquid is a little creamy.
Chop about a 1/2 cup of fresh cilantro to beans and stir in.

I like to eat these beans like "Cuban Haystacks"

You can top your beans and rice with tomato, green onion, avacado, and hot sauce. These beans are addicting and can be used as refried beans when you're sick of eating them with rice. (Although I can't imagine that happening!)

Enjoy!

No comments:

Post a Comment