Pink Beans

Pink Beans (with Ham)

I didn't use ham and they were still wonderful. I like this with the yellow rice recipe.

Habichuelas Rositas con Jamon

Put a plate of this in front of my friend Miguelina and stand back. She loves it, and you will too. Cooking dried beans is practically a part of my daily routine, but if I ever get caught short, I have emergency canned beans on the shelf. I’ve used canned pink beans in this recipes with wonderful results.

1 pound pink beans 
2 bay leaves 
One 14 ½-ounce can chicken or vegetable broth 
½ cup Recaito [see below] 
½ cup alcaparrado or coarsely chopped pimiento-stuffed olives 
½ cup canned Spanish-style tomato sauce 
1 russet potato, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces 
½ pound cooking ham, cut into ½-inch cubes (about 1 ½ cups) 
Fine sea or kosher salt 
Freshly ground black pepper 
You can make a quick version of this dish using canned beans. Drain and rinse three 15-ounce cans of pink beans. Combine all ingredients in a pot and bring to a boil. Adjust the heat so the liquid is simmering and cook until the potato is tender, about 20 minutes.

1. Put the beans and bay leaves in a medium saucepan and pour in enough water to cover them by 2 inches. Bring the water to a boil, then adjust the heat so it is boiling gently. Cook the beans until near tender, about 1 ½ hours. Keep an eye on the beans; they should always be covered by liquid. When the liquid meets the level of the beans, top it off with cold water to cover by an inch or so.

2. Add the broth, recaito, alcaparrado or olives, tomato sauce, potato, ham and salt and pepper to taste. Continue cooking until the beans and potato are tender, about 30 minutes.

Recaito There really is no translation for this mixture of onion, garlic, peppers and green herbs. Recao is culantro (see below) in Puerto Rican-speak, so this seasoning is nicknamed recaito, or "little culantro." I use recaito for dishes like Cuban black beans or Puerto Rican Style Pot Roast, where you don't want the color or extra liquid that you have in a sofrito. Culantro is the defining flavor. recaito, like sofrito, can get you out of any kitchen emergency. It pays to make extra (which this recipe does) and portion it out for the freezer. Makes about 1 ½ cups 1 medium Spanish onion, cut into big chunks 8 cloves garlic, peeled 6 ajicitos dulces (see recipe for Sofrito) or 1 cubanelle peppers, cored, seeded, and cut into chunks 4 leaves culantro (if you can't find culantro, increase the amount of Iajicitos or cilantro by half) 6 big sprig cilantro, stems and all, coarsely chopped (about 1 cup packed) Place the onion and garlic in the work bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade. With the motor running, add the remaining ingredients, one at a time and process, until the mixture is smooth. Set aside the amount you need for the recipe you're preparing. Pack the remaining recaito in ½-cup portions in sealable plastic bags and store in freezer.