Black Beans And Rum (For Poor Poets And Others)

• 1 pound black beans, soaked
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 1 celery stalk, finely chopped
• 1 ham hock OR a knob of butter/spash of oil and 2 dried chipotle peppers or 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
• 1 adventurous splash of of hot sauce
• 1/4 cup rum
• sour cream
• Parsley leaves, torn

1. Throw the beans, onion, celery, hock (or butter plus smoky peppers), thyme, and salt in either a heavy, lidded pot or a pressure cooker. Add enough water or bean-soaking liquid to barely submerge the beans.
2. Cover, bring to a boil, and simmer for about 2 hours on the stove until the beans are tender and the broth flavorful (You can certainly simmer longer, if you like and can wait). If pressure cooking, cook for forty minutes at pressure and, if you have time, let the pressure release naturally.
3. Carefully remove the hock, if using. (If it has a lot of meat on it, let cool a little before picking it. Reserve meat for another use or add it right back to the beans.)
4. Stir in the hot sauce, rum, and extra salt to your taste.
5. Ladle into bowls and have each person top with sour cream and parsley as desired.

black beans, onion, celery stalk, ham hock, thyme, salt, adventurous, rum, sour cream, parsley

Taken from food52.com/recipes/42243-black-beans-and-rum-for-poor-poets-and-others (may not work)