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Black Beans and Kale Save the World

We love black beans in Miami, so I made them for one of my presentations. I added kale to show how easy and how delicious it is to add green to your diet. They were snarfed.Using canned beans saves you time, making dried beans from scratch will be cheaper -- and results in more tender beans. You deserve tenderness but it's your call.
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Servings 6 -8

Ingredients
  

  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 onions chopped
  • 4 garlic cloves chopped
  • 1 sweet red pepper chopped
  • 1 hot pepper like a jalapeño, chopped
  • 12 ounces dried black beans cooked with 2 garlic cloves and 2 bay leaves
  • OR 2 15-ounce cans prepared black beans with their bean broth
  • 1 tablespoon tomato paste
  • 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
  • 2 tablespoons sherry vinegar OR 1 tablespoon cider vinegar
  • 1 head kale or Swiss chard sliced into skinny ribbons*
  • sea salt to taste

Instructions
 

  • In a large soup pot, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add onions and cook, stirring, until they start to sweat, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and both the sweet and hot pepper.
  • Stir to combine and reduce heat to medium. Cook the vegetables, stirring occasionally, for another 15 minutes, until they're softened and aromatic.
  • Add the black beans. Stir to combine. Reduce heat to medium, set the pot lid on halfway, leaving a little steam vent.
  • Cook the beans for an hour, longer if you've got the time. Add a quarter cup of water if necessary. The beans should be thick but not over-dry. The goal is a divine beanly sludge.
  • Stir in the tomato paste, smoked paprika and sherry or cider vinegar. Remove from heat.
  • Add the chiffonade of kale or chard by the handful. Stir gently, letting the greens wilt into the beans.
  • Season with sea salt to taste.