I'm not sol.......but..
Got any chicken broth? I make frijoles negro 2 ways....one with chicken broth onions, tomatoes, some celery...fairly straight forward bean soup...with some cilantro.
Then I make another by cooking with a ham hock and some garlic and onion until it pretty well turns to mush, add some canned chopped green chilis, about 1/2 cup cream sherry and serve with a topper of sour cream.
Both very good!
Linda C

There was recipe posted back in May 2007 that Sol said looked authentic, but someone else posted it. I've made it several times and love it. Here's the recipe:

"Cuban Black Beans

2 cups Black turtle beans (I didn't measure I used a 1# pkg)
2 green peppers (1 whole the other diced)
6 quarts water
3 TBSP Evoo
2 ham hocks (I used a 1/2 lb hickory smoked bacon) [or turkey/chicken legs/thighs - Lars]
2 cups thinly sliced onion
6 garlic cloves minced
3 TBSP tomato paste (I used the whole can)
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground oregano
3 bay leaves cracked
1 TBSP salt to taste
1 Tsp ground pepper
3 TBSP chopped cilantro (optional)
1/2 cup red wine vinegar or lime juice

Soak beans overnight with whole pepper. Remove pepper, keep beans in water.

Saute Evoo, bacon or ham, onion, diced pepper, and garlic until veggies are soft. Add to beans, add tom paste, cumin, oregano, bay leaves, and S&P. Bring to a boil and then simmer until beans are tender and sauce thickens. Serve over rice.

I soaked the beans in my crock, sautéed the veggies and bacon, threw in the spices and tom paste, then added it to the crock and simmered for 3 hours on high. 10 minutes before serving add 1/2 cup red wine vinegar or lime juice. It was quite good. We frequent a mom & pop Cuban restaurant in Somerville and this ranks right up there with their fare."

I didn't soak the beans with the pepper, and I used one green pepper and one red pepper, which I sautéed with the onion and garlic. For me, the bell pepper was the key flavor in this recipe, and I've never made it with ham, since DB would not eat it. You can omit the meat altogether, and it is still a good recipe, but I have used chicken or turkey thighs in it also. I used lime juice instead of vinegar because I've got lots of limes on my tree now.

Lars

Lars, thank you, this is the one I wanted to try. Off to the pantry to make sure I have everything.

Peppi

Consider adding a bottle of dark Mexican beer. Mmmmm.

Mustangs has a good recipe. Too lazy to find it.

My recipe is basically the same as Lar's recipe. Although, cilantro is not optional. You must use it and lots of it. lol.

Ironically, Cilantro is never used in Cuban cuisine.

And Cubans hardly ever use heat. Cilantro and Chili Peppers are popular among Mexicans, and Asians, not Cubans.

That said, Cilantro is now used among the nuevo latino crowd.

Anyway, I distinctly remember the recipe Lars posted, because I was pleasantly surprised of its authenticity, as opposed to some of the Black Bean Soup recipes I've seen floating around in cyberspace.

I digress. The recipe was posted by Sands99. She mentioned finding it at Cuba Cocina, and it sounded great to me. I've never posted a recipe for black beans here because I've never used one. I just learned from watching the matriarchs in my family while growing up.
But my ingredients are almost exactly as the ones Sands99 posted, minus the Cilantro.

Peppi, I think you'll really like Sand's recipe.

Sol

Sol, thanks for the reply. I have the recipe going in the crock pot as I type.