Black bean stew

This the recipe concocted today. Some feel strongly that ham hough/hock should be boiled skin-intact with beans in order to impart flavour.

Black Bean Soup
500g Dried black or pinto beans, soaked overnight and boiled for 10 mins next morning to leach out their purple poisons
500-750g Smoked ham hough (hock, for you hicks), sliced into pot-friendy pieces by your local neighbourhood butcher
1 yellow onion, 3 shallots, 3 cloves garlic, diced and sweated off
3 bay leaves
10 cumin seeds
3 deseeded tomatoes, or generous squeeze tomato paste

Simmer for approx 3 hrs, then strip the ham off bone. Serve with a generous sprinkling of green coriander (cilantro-YouEssers) and a dollop of sour cream.