Frijoles Negros de Verdad
The Sunday version: real potaje de frijoles negros in the Instant Pot. A whole pepper boils with the beans, the sofrito gets mashed beans, vino seco, and vinegar, and it finishes with a whisper of sugar.
The Cook
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Rinse the beans really well in a colander.
Beans into the Instant Pot with the 8 cups of water and the whole red pepper, just drop it in whole.
Seal the lid, valve to Sealing. Pressure cook on High for 45 minutes. If the beans come out with a little bite still, give them 5 more minutes under pressure.
While that runs, make the sofrito in a pan, low heat always: olive oil, the chopped onion, the chopped pepper, the garlic paste, the salt, oregano, cumin, and bay leaves. Let it get soft and fragrant, never browned.
When the beans are done, fish out the boiled pepper and tear a few pieces of it right into the sofrito.
Ladle two big scoops of beans into the sofrito pan and mash them in. This is the move that makes the potaje creamy.
Finish the sofrito with a splash of vino seco and a splash of vinegar. Let it come together a minute.
Scrape the whole sofrito back into the pot with the beans. Stir, taste, and fix the salt now.
Add the sugar to round out the flavors, then cover and let it simmer about 15 minutes, until it thickens up and coats the spoon. Want it thicker? 5 more minutes does it.
Kill the heat, drizzle a little olive oil over the top, and let it sit a few minutes before serving.
Serve it over white rice, always.
Serg's Notes
This is the real potaje, the long way, exactly how I make it. In a hurry? My Quick Black Beans in a Pinch is on this site too, that one's the weeknight save.
The whole boiled pepper is the old-school trick: it flavors the beans while they cook, then pieces of it melt into the sofrito. Nothing gets wasted.
No soaking needed. The pressure cooker gets dried beans creamy in 45 minutes, skins intact.
Day two is better than day one. Make it ahead if you can.
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