Habichuelas Guisadas
Ingredients
- 1 lb red kidney beans
- 1 sweet potato, diced
- 5 carrots, chopped
- 1 bell pepper, chopped
- Handful of cilantro
- 5 sprigs of thyme
- 1 bay leaf
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 cup tomato sauce
- 6 cups of water that beans cooked in
- Seasonings (1-2 tbsp adobo seasoning, 2 tsp smoked paprika, 1-2 tbsp cumin, 1 tbsp oregano, black pepper to taste) — adjust seasonings to preference
Preparation
Rinse and add beans to pressure cooker with about 8 cups of water. Set to manual, and seal to pressurize (feel free to also cook normally). Once beans are complete, begin sautéing garlic and onion in a large pot on the stove top at medium heat, about 2 minutes. Add in beans, veggies, and tomato sauce to the pot, and cook for an additional three minutes. Add in 6 cups of the bean water and add in all spices and herbs. Lower heat to a simmer and cook for 2 hours. After cooking time is complete, feel free to consume, however, from personal experience, the longer this sits the more the flavors develop
As a point because there maybe some of you that might think a meal like this takes too much time to do or might be too complicated. If you feel that way then throw it in a crock pot. But meals like this I definitely don’t mind cooking for a number of reasons. Most important being that my mom and my family spend time cooking meals like this all the time and it’s something I always appreciated because it helped connect us to our culture, it brings up good memories and happy times. Meals like this are defining and can really help ground you and celebrate who you are