SPANISH BLACK BEANS RECIPES

Steps:

• Cut 1 green pepper into 1-inch squares. Smash and peel 4 of the garlic cloves. Put the green pepper and garlic into a large pot with the beans, ham hock, bay leaves and 1 tablespoon salt. Add 2 quarts water and bring to a boil. Cover the pot and simmer until the beans are tender, an hour or more.
• Meanwhile, make a sofrito. Cut the remaining ½ green pepper into ¼-inch dice. Peel and finely chop the remaining garlic. Heat the olive oil in a very large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the bacon and cook, stirring occasionally, until it starts to brown, about 5 minutes. Add the green pepper and onion and cook, stirring, until slightly softened, about 3 minutes. Add the garlic, jalapeño (leave out the seeds if you don’t want it too spicy), oregano, cumin, black pepper and 2 teaspoons salt and stir for another minute. Pour in the vinegar and scrape any browned bits from bottom of pan with a wooden spoon. This is your sofrito.
• When the beans are cooked, discard the bay leaf. Remove and set aside the ham hock and let it cool. Transfer 1 cup of beans to small bowl, mash them into a paste with the back of a fork and return to the pot. Add the sofrito, then the sugar. Pull the meat from the ham hock, leaving behind any white sinew or gristle. Chop the ham into ½-inch pieces and return it to the bean pot.
• Stir the beans well and bring to a boil over medium heat, then lower to a simmer and cook, uncovered, for 20 minutes or so, skimming any foam from the top. Taste for salt and serve with white rice.

Steps:

• To make the spice mix, combine all of the ingredients together with a large pinch of salt. Slash the lamb shoulder all over with a sharp knife and rub in. If you have the time, marinate for up to 24 hrs, but this is not essential.
• Heat the oven to 150C/130C fan/gas 2. Heat the oil in a large flameproof casserole dish or roasting tin over a medium-high heat, add the onions, carrots and garlic and sizzle for 5 mins until the onions and carrots are softened. Pour over the stock, then bring to the boil. Nestle the lamb in the pan and cover, then transfer to the oven and roast for 2 hrs.
• Uncover and transfer the lamb to a plate using tongs. Stir the beans, peppers and olives through the stock in the pan, sit the lamb back on top and return to the oven, uncovered, for 1 hr 30 mins until the lamb is cooked through. Transfer the lamb to a board and shred using two forks. Stir the parsley through the braised beans before serving.