Black beans

I discovered black beans when I was living in Atlanta, and I've loved them ever since, but they're not so easy to find in Europe. I never learned how to cook them in the U.S. because I always bought them cooked in a can, and they were really good. I did manage to find some dried black beans in Cyprus years ago, but I didn't know how to cook them.

So, after putting it off for a really long time, I managed to get some black beans, and I started looking up recipes on the Internet. It turns out, there are a lot of variations out there, but I ended up using a recipe by Melissa d'Arabian on the Food Network with some adjustments.

Ingredients
500 g dried black beans
1 large onion (roughly around 200 g before it's peeled)
4 fresh garlic cloves OR 1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic
1 teaspoon oregano
3/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon paprika
4 teaspoons sugar (I used demerara)
4 tablespoons white-wine vinegar
1 teaspoon (5 mL) salt
Black pepper to taste

Directions
Soak the dried beans a day in advance. They should start getting soft by the time you're ready to cook.

Rinse the beans with fresh water, drain and put them in a cooking pot with 1 L of fresh water (which should be enough to cover the beans). Bring to boil, and then reduce the heat and simmer covered for 30 minutes. Skim off any foam that comes to the top, though I got the impression that if you soak them longer, they don't foam as much.

While waiting, chop the onion. Add it in when the 30 minutes are up, and simmer for another 30 minutes at minimum. Add the garlic, oregano, cumin and paprika, and simmer uncovered for another 30 minutes, or until the beans are soft enough and the soup has a thick consistency, stirring occasionally. Take off the heat and stir in the sugar and the vinegar, and add salt and pepper to taste.

They are ready to serve, but I think they get better if you let them sit for a while, maybe even until the next day.