Puerto Rican Red Kidney Beans

Grandma’s Puerto Rican Rice and Beans was to die for! I learned the secret family recipe by watching her cook it over and over throughout my childhood, and then my Mom helped me to refine my method when I was in college.

Ingredients

• 1 green pepper diced
• 1 medium onion diced
• 3-4 cloves of garlic
• 1 Tbsp Oregano
• 1 lb. Country Style ribs (if you follow the Yellow Rice and Pork recipe, use the fat and bones left from that recipe in this recipe)
• 4 – 15oz cans of Progresso red kidney beans rinsed OR 1 lb. bag of dried red kidney beans (soaked in water overnight and periodically drained)
• 1 – 15oz can of tomato sauce
• 1 pint of water
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 Tbsp red cider vinegar
• ~ 1 cup Spanish Olives stuffed with red pimentos

Instructions

1. Sauté diced peppers and onions in 6-8 quart covered pot with 2 Tbsp oil until soft and translucent. Remove from pot and set aside.
2. While vegetables are being sautéed, take garlic cloves and 1 tsp of salt and mash them with a mortar and pestle until a paste is created. Add 1 Tbsp of Oregano and mash together. Add 2 Tbsp of cider vinegar and mix together. Set mortar and pestle with garlic mixture aside until later.
3. Sauté country style pork ribs in 2 Tbsp oil until brown and pan is caramelized. If you follow the Yellow Rice and Pork recipe, use the fat and bones left from that recipe in this recipe.
4. When the pork is done sautéing, add the garlic mixture in the mortar and pestle into the pan with the pork and stir around letting the garlic-oregano-vinegar mixture to cook slightly and pickup the caramelized meat residue. 
5. Add the can of tomato sauce and the 1 pint of water and the cans of beans.
6. Add the sautéed green peppers and onions and Spanish olives.
7. Stir the pot and bring to a simmer. Cook covered for approximately 45-60 minutes. Dried beans will take a bit longer. Make sure they are soft.
8. Serve over white rice or Yellow Rice and Pork recipe.