Habichuelas is an inherent part of our culture and one of the components of La Bandera Dominicana (The Dominican Flag), our traditional lunch. It is traditionally prepared with red kidney beans, but you can substitute for another type of beans.

Time: 35 Mins
Difficulty: Medium
Serve: 4 people

Before starting to cook: No prior preparation is necessary.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups of red kidney beans, boiled very soft
• Water in which you boiled the beans
• 1/2 cup of chopped celery
• 1 small red onion cut into four quarters
• 1 cube of chicken bouillon
• 1/2 teaspoon of chopped coriander/cilantro
• 1/2 teaspoon of thyme leaves
• 1 tablespoon of tomato sauce
• 1 tablespoon of oil
• 1/2 teaspoon of mashed garlic
• 1 pinch of oregano
• Salt

Preparation:

1. In a pot heat the oil. Add oregano, onion, garlic, tomato paste, celery and herbs. Stir and add two tablespoons of water. Add the beans and simmer. When the water has almost evaporated add the chicken bouillon and two more tablespoons of water, stir. Add the remaining water mashing the beans over heat. Boil at medium heat until it reaches a creamy consistency. Adjust salt to taste.
   
2. Serve with arroz blanco, a side dish (or salad) and meat.

Thanks.... Now... he loves the way his aunt makes them and they come out with like a pinkish color.... the beans and the sauce and it's nice and thick were it sits on the rice. would you happen to know how she does that???

If he likes his habichuelas more "soupy" then I suggest that after boiling them (or after opening the can if you do it that way) you blend half the beans with some water and then strain it. Add this liquid to the preparation, there will be less whole beans in the mix but it will be more like a thick sauce to pour on the rice.

Mmmm....tastes exactly like the recipe my girlfriend from Santo Domingo makes.

Did you forget the onions on this recipe or do you not like onions in your beans???

We didn't add onions to beans at home. But yes, some people do. It is in the list of ingredients and in the instructions. Check again.

There is one thing I don't understand, it says to mash the beans over heat in your recipe but shouldn't the beans be whole in the dish?
Thanks