Smoky Simmered Beans with Sofrito

Obviously, you’re going to have just beans for dinner (unless, maybe?) so just in case, you can make Spanish rice and serve with some corn tortillas. Fun side fact about this dish: my phone keeps autocorrecting the name of this to “Soffits” so that’s what I call it to take away from its authenticity even more.

Ingredients

Sofrito

1 medium red or green bell pepper, seeded and cut into quarters

3 aji dulce, aji amarillo, or mini bell peppers, seeded and coarsely chopped

6 large garlic cloves, peeled

1 large yellow onion, coarsely chopped

12 sprigs fresh cilantro, coarsely chopped

Beans

3 cups home-cooked pinto, navy, or pink beans (or 2 (15 oz) cans, drained and rinsed)

1/2 cup sofrito (recipe above)

2 tbsp bacon fat or olive oil

2 cups low-sodium chicken broth, plus more as needed

2 dried bay leaves

Preparation

1. In a food processor or blender, pulse the garlic and peppers until finely chopped. Add the onion and cilantro and blend until smooth. Measure out 1/2 cup for this recipe. Store the rest in the refrigerator for up to 1 week or in the freezer for up to 3 months.

2. Heat the bacon fat or olive oil in a heavy-bottomed skillet or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the sofrito and cook, stirring often, until all the liquid has evaporated and the sofrito has darkened in color and smells deeply earthy and fragrant, 5–7 minutes.

3. Add the beans and bay leaves and stir to coat in the sofrito. Pour in the broth and bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the beans are deeply flavorful and the sauce has reduced to just coat the beans, 25–30 minutes. If the beans look dry during cooking, add more broth or water as needed. Discard the bay leaves. Serve with white rice, corn tortillas, or crusty bread.

Notes

Inspired by Food & Wine.