Cuban Black Bean Stew

• 2 pork hocks meaty smoked, about 1.5 lbs
• EVOO
• 3 whole cloves
• 2 onions medium to large, peeled and chopped into 1/2-inch dice
• 1 sweet pepper small to medium green, cut into 1/2-inch dice
• 1 sweet pepper small to medium red, cut into 1/2-inch dice
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 broth recipe Cheater's Homemade, or 2 14-ounce cans low sodium chicken broth, or vegetable broth
• 6 large garlic cloves peeled and coarse chopped
• 3 bay leaves broken
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
• 3 tomato paste generous tablespoons
• 45 ounces black beans drained and rinsed
• 3 limes halved, or about 1/2 cup sherry, wine, cider or palm vinegar

1. Trim the meat away from the pork hock bone, cutting it into small pieces. Don't be too fussy; leaving some on the bone is fine.
2. Film the bottom of a 10-quart stockpot with olive oil and heat over medium high.
3. Stir in the meat, bone, cloves, onions, peppers, and salt. Saute 8 minutes (stirring occasionally), or until the vegetables are sizzling and there's a brown glaze on the bottom of the pan (vegetables need not brown, and take care not to let that glaze blacken).
4. Add a little of the broth along with the garlic, bay leaves, cumin, oregano, black pepper, and tomato paste. With a wooden spatula, scrape up the glaze as you simmer the mix on medium high for 3 minutes.
5. Blend in the beans and the remaining broth. Adjust the heat so the soup bubbles gently. Cover the pot tightly, and cook for 20 minutes.
6. Stir in the juice from 2-1/2 limes, or 1/3 cup of vinegar. Taste soup for seasoning. Adjust salt and pepper, and add more lime or vinegar to your own taste.
7. Ladle the soup into bowls, topping each serving with a heaping tablespoon of chopped onion and a little fresh coriander. Have hot sauce on the table. For Cuban style, you could ladle the stew over rice.

pork hocks meaty smoked, evoo, cloves, onions, sweet pepper, sweet pepper, kosher salt, broth recipe cheater, garlic, bay leaves broken, ground cumin, oregano, fresh ground black pepper, tomato paste generous, black beans, sherry

Taken from www.yummly.com/recipe/Cuban-Black-Bean-Stew-1387622 (may not work)