Frijoles (south American Beans)

INGREDIENTS

INSTRUCTIONS

Got another care package from Down Under, courtesy Mark Herron.  The
following series of recipes are from the Raw Materials column by Meryl
Constance who writes for the Sydney Morning Herald.  The three  columns
this time covered basil, veal and strawberries (remember  them?  ;-}).
Pay attention now++there's some good-looking stuff  here...  This
recipe comes from Antioquia in Colombia but variations on the  theme
are made all over South and Central America.  In Colombia, it  is
served with rice and a number of side dishes, including crisp pork
crackling, bananas, avocados and white corncakes.  Stretched in this
way, the quantities given here would easily serve eight.  Into a large
pot 2 cups of red kidney beans (not pre-soaked).  Add 5  cups of a
mixture made from the liquid drained from a large tin of  peeled
tomatoes (the tomatoes themselves are used later) and your  choice of
stock.  Do not add salt it is said to prevent the beans softening
properly.  Cover the pot and put the beans to cook over a low heat.
South  American practice is to add a tablespoon of oil when the beans
begin  to wrinkle but Raw Materials omits this with no ill-effects.
Continue  cooking until tender++about 2 to 3 hours.  Meanwhile, finely
chop 2 large onions and 4 cloves of garlic and fry  gently in a little
oil.  Add 500 g minced meat (usually beef but take  your choice) and
fry very slowly until brown.  Add the tinned  tomatoes, a chopped green
capsicum, 2 or 3 bay leaves, 2 teaspoons  cumin, half a bunch of basil
(chopped), 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper,  pepper and salt.  Tip the
contents of the frying pan into the beans and simmer slowly  till well
blended.  Serves 4 to 6.  Posted by Stephen Ceideberg; November 17
1992.  File
ftp://ftp.idiscover.co.uk/pub/food/mealmaster/recipes/cberg2.zip

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