Cuban Black Bean Soup recipe

Ingredients:
1
lb Black beans, dried
1 c Onion; chopped
1 T Margarine or butter
4
c Water
1 ea Bouillon cube, beef
12 oz Ham, cooked lean
2 ea Bay
leaves
1/2 t Thyme, dried leaf
1/2 t Oregano, dried leaf
1/2 t
Salt
1 ea Red pepper, dried whole
1 c Green pepper; chopped
1/3 c
Dark rum (optional)
1 c Sour cream (optional)

Procedures:
Sort and soak beans
overnight; drain and discard soak water. In a
4-quart pot, saute onion in
butter or marg until tender but not
browned. Add soaked beans, 4 cups
water, bouillon cube, ham (cut into
4-6 chunks), bay leaves, thyme,
oregano, salt & red pepper. Bring to
boil; reduce heat. Cover and simmer
until beans are tender, 1 to
1-1/2 hour. Remove 1 c. beans from stew,
mash in a bowl with potato
masher or fork. Add mashed beans to stew; stir
to thicken. Remove ham
and dice. Remove bay leaves and red pepper, if
used and discard. Add
diced meat, green pepper and rum (if desired) to
beans. Cover and
simmer 15 minutes. Serve beans over rice and top with
sour cream if
desired.