Colombian Frijoles

Every Sunday, my Colombian friends get together and have a big cook-out for lunch, and they share in fellowship. I like observing the merriment. They make group cooking a lot of fun. Today, they made a kidney bean stew which tastes absolutely wonderful. I think the flavour was in the lard. This is one of those dishes that tastes better if kept for the next day.

• Ready In: 3 hrs 30 mins
• Serves: 6

Ingredients

• 500  g  red beans (soaked overnight) or 500  g kidney beans (soaked overnight)
• 300  g  fatty  pork knuckle
• 1⁄4 cup  vegetable oil
• 2  tablespoons  lard (from the pork knuckle)
• 3 -4  tomatoes, chopped
• 1⁄4 cup green onion, chopped
• 1  tablespoon cumin
• 2  tablespoons cilantro, chopped
•  salt

Directions

1. Cut the pork knuckle into little pieces, the size of your thumbnail.
2. In a non stick pan, fry the pork until the pieces are crisp, and golden brown in colour.
3. Remove from pan, and drain.
4. Rinse the beans and run them through your hands to make sure that there are no small stones or bits of earth among them.
5. Put the beans, pork fritters and lard into the pot and add enough water to cover the beans.
6. Boil for about 2 hours stirring occasionally every 20 minutes, covered until they are tender, but not soft.
7. In a separate pan, sauté the green onions and tomatoes for about 8- 10 minutes, until you get a nice thick sauce and all the tomatoes are dissolved.
8. Remove from fire and add the tomato sauce to the bean stew.
9. Add the salt, cumin and cilantro, and simmer for another 30 minutes, adding water if necessary.
10. Serve with rice.