Name: Frijoles Paisas
Yield: Serves 4–6 as a Side Dish
Cuisine: United Kingdom
Ingredients: 400 g dried pinto or black beans; 1 small onion, finely diced; 2 pigs tails or a ham hock (optional); 2 cloves garlic, finely diced; 3 spring onions, finely sliced; 1 × 400 g tin chopped tomatoes; 2 teaspoons vegetable oil; ½ bunch fresh coriander, chopped; 1 litre cold water; 1 green plantain; ½ teaspoon salt; 1 teaspoon ground cumin

Preparation info

Serves
4–6
as a Side Dish

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

Recipes from Brixton Village

By Miss South

Published 2014

About

South Americans can work magic with beans. Humble pulses are turned into dishes that are utterly beguiling. I love the food at Santafereño but my favourite thing is the beans. They’re soft and creamy with a silky smooth sauce, and I could eat them on their own instead of just as one small part of the meal.

I had assumed they were cooked in lots of lard to get this texture, but it turns out the secret ingredient is a green plantain cooked in with them to thicken the cooking liquid an