Black beans

I had a bunch of leftover ingredients after making some dishes recently: a bone from puerco pibil, some tomato juice strained off before making pasta sauce, and some chicken and vegetable stock that I didn't have room for in the canner. I couldn't let all that go to waste - instead I decided to make find a second life for all these items in some good, old fashioned black beans. This is a great dish to warm you inside and out and can certainly be made vegetarian sans bone and chicken stock.

Ingredients:

• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 T olive oil
• pork bone and fat
• 2 C dried black beans, rehydrated for 4-6 hours and rinsed thoroughly
• 2 C reserved juice from canned tomatoes (or just canned tomatoes)
• 2 C stock (chicken, veggie, or both)
• salt and pepper

Optional garnish:

• 1 C shredded cabbage
• 2 shredded carrots
• 1/2 lemon, juiced
• 1/2 t salt

Instructions:

Saute the onions in olive oil in a stock pot over medium high heat. When translucent add the pork bone and fat and brown for 5 minutes. Add the beans, tomato juice, and stock.

Bring to a boil then reduce the head to medium low. Cook for 2 hours or until the black beans are tender. Add water as the liquid cooks down. Season with salt and pepper when finished cooking. 

Serve with optional garnish, sour cream, over rice, or as is. If you're like me and can't eat that many beans at one time, freeze or can for future use.