Recipe from Eduardo Machado and Michael Domitrovich
Adapted by Pete Wells

Delicious recipe. The only problem might be in locating a smoked ham hock. I actually got one in Whole Foods along with a smoked ham shank, either one is acceptable. It helped that it was just before Easter, however a good butcher shop will probably have a fresh one. That works also.

According to Pete Wells:  The secret is the homemade sofrito.

INGREDIENTS

Yield: 8 to 10 Servings

1½ green peppers, stemmed and seeded

10 garlic cloves

1 pound dried black beans, rinsed and picked over to remove any stones

1 smoked ham hock

2 bay leaves

5 teaspoons salt, or to taste (may not need so much salt)

¼ cup olive oil

4 slices thick bacon, cut into ½-inch pieces

1 Spanish onion, diced

1 jalapeño, stemmed and finely chopped

1 teaspoon dried oregano

½ teaspoon ground cumin

½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

3 tablespoons distilled white vinegar

1 tablespoon turbinado or other brown sugar (optional)

PREPARATION

  1. 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.
  2. 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 remaining 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.
  3. 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.
  4. 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.