Black Beans with Garlic, Cumin and Cilantro

I love black beans, but mainly when I cook them, since sometimes other people don’t cook them well enough and they annoy my stomach, and horseradishsauce tells me if they’re cooked incorrectly on too low a heat, the toxin levels in them go nuts and they make you sick. Wikipedia agrees.

So, this recipe requires you to cook the shit out of these so they will be delicious and gentler on your tummy. Adapted (and doubled) from this recipe. We made these for Mother’s Day along with gouda-red-onion quesadillas and spicy orange salad.

Ingredients:

• 2 16-ounce cans black beans
• 3 1/2 to 4 large garlic cloves, crushed thoroughly and minced, or pressed through a garlic press
• 2 generous teaspoons ground cumin (I like cumin)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/3 cup tomato juice or water
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

Method:

• Put the beans from the can in a medium saucepan, with about 2 c of their beanwater, plus tomato juice if using. Bring to a boil, stirring about every 4 min to scrape the bottom.
• Continue to keep beans at a low boil for 1 hours. Keep adding water as necessary.
• Separately, fry the cumin and garlic in the oil over med-low in a pan until fragrant. Add into the beans.
• Continue up to 3 hours at the low boil, adding water as necessary, until the beans get to be the mash-y texture of refried beans or slightly softer.
• Remove from heat, stir in the cilantro and salt, top with extra cheese from the Quesadillas, and serve.