Spanish-Cuban Bean Soup

The Gourmandise School   of Sweets and Savories

Name that gourd!  Email us the correct answer and get 50% off your next class. (Hint: it's on the menu for the Cuban class). Savor the flavor. You can now explore Cuban cuisine outside of Miami (and without a pit stop in Canada), but the quickest way to bring these flavors home is in Chef John Pitbaldo's Cuban Feast classes.  Cuba is more than cigars, garlic chicken and rice and beans. Its culinary story is filled with resourcefulness, a reversal of big agriculture and influences from Africa, Spain and China. A nation once dependent on sugar cane and tobacco, embargoes and the fall of the Soviet Union quickly felled the large plantations, making way for small, sustainable plots of land requisitioned from empty farms and abandoned urban centers. Cuba and its culinary traditions have survived without imported spices since the 90's- and John's excited to share some of the recipes and stories with you. Here's a crowd favorite: Spanish-Cuban Bean Soup 1 large green pepper, diced 1 large onion, diced 6-7 cloves of garlic, minced 2 tablespoons of olive oil 2 cans of garbanzo beans 5 to 6 medium russet potatoes, cubed  2 teaspoon saffron, ground to powder in mortar and pestle 1 tablespoon oregano 2 quarts of water 2 bay leaves salt and pepper to taste 1 pound of cubed smoked ham 2 chorizo sausage (the cured spanish type, not raw)   Sauté the green pepper and onion in olive oil until tender, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and sauté about 1 minute. Add ground saffron powder and mix well.   Add potatoes and coat with the saffron so they are yellow. Add the beans, water, bay leaves, oregano and the cubed ham. Bring to a boil and add salt and pepper to taste. Cook until the potatoes are tender. Add the chorizo about 30 minutes before serving. Serve with toasted garlic bread. Wishing you a delicious day,  Clémence