Caraotas Negras (Venezuelan Black Beans)

Kavi, this recipe goes out to you. Little TJ sure did seem to enjoy these beans on Jeremy`s Venezuelan birthday dinner night :) 

When I first laid eyes on my husband to be, little did I know what yummy culinary dishes his family would introduce me to. 
For those who didn't know, Jeremy grew up in Venezuela. Right downtown in Caracas. His parents had moved there to start a new church. Jeremy recounts fond memories of freshly-squeezed orange juice from an abundance of inexpensive oranges, delicious fruits we`ve never heard of here and of course, as is the custom in most South-American food repertoires, bundles and bundles of BEANS. The beans, or, `caraotas,` that were an all-time favourite were made up in a special black bean dish that was an essential part of "Pabellon Criollo", Venezuela`s national dish (pictured above). When Jeremy & his family moved back to Canada, they were confronted with a very scary fact: nobody knew how to make the infamous caraotas negras!!   Apparently, in Venezuela, you can just buy a 'package' of caraotas negras seasoning at the 'marcado'. I don't know what this would be like here... sloppy joe sauce? taco seasoning? ... Needless to say, it took a long time and lots of trials to get this family recipe right. These beans are really, really yummy and a good dish to make at the beginning of the week for lunches. They work well as a topper for arépas as well, which I`m sure I will blog about at some point soon (the arépas are the little corn cakes in the upper right corner of the picture). I also think that it`s a good thing to eat more beans. Beans are so good for you and we hardly eat enough of them.  A cup of beans goes a very long way. Do enjoy & bon appétit! 


ps - a little tidbit from the Jerms: if you`re going to do your beans in a pressure cooker to speed things up a bit, don`t pressure cook the onion. It will completely spoil your meal. Also, WATCH THE SALT. This dish is also easily spoiled by adding too much salt. 


Ingredients:
- 2 cups black beans, dried 
- pork (hock, ribs, riblettes etc.)
- 2 chopped onions
- 4 cloves of crushed garlic
- 1 tbs. cumin
- 2-3 tsp. salt
- 4 tbs. freshly chopped cilantro
- 1 chopped green pepper


Directions:
1. Soak your beans overnight. Rinse them out in the morning and put them in the slow cooker with the meat.
2. Add water to cover the beans and cook on high all morning.
3. In the early afternoon, add the chopped onions, garlic, cumin and salt. 
4. Before serving in the evening, remove the bones from the meat and shred the meat. 
5. Make a pot of rice...
6. Add the fresh cilantro and green pepper to your beans. Serve hot on a bed of rice.