HABICHUELAS GUISIDAS

Ingredients

For the Beans

  • 1 bag Dominican red beans (habichuelas rojas), soaked overnight and boiled until tender

  • 3 cloves garlic

  • 1 tsp / 3 g Dominican oregano

  • 1 tbsp / 15 ml vegetable oil

  • 1 tbsp / 15 g sofrito

  • ⅓ red onion, chopped

  • ⅓ red bell pepper, chopped

  • ⅓ green bell pepper, chopped (optional)

  • 1 tbsp / 16 g tomato paste

  • 1 chicken bouillon cube

  • 2 leaves culantro

  • 5 cups / 1.2 L water or cooking liquid from the boiled beans

  • ½ small auyama (pumpkin), cut into large chunks

  • 1 small bunch fresh cilantro

  • 1 cup / 240 ml additional water

Method

1. Prep the Aromatics: Mash the garlic and Dominican oregano together into a smooth paste using a pilon.

2. Sauté the Base: Heat the oil in a medium pot over medium heat. Add the sofrito, mashed garlic and oregano paste, onions, bell peppers, and tomato paste. Sauté for 1–2 minutes until fragrant and the tomato paste darkens slightly.

3. Season & Add Liquid: Crumble in the chicken bouillon cube and add the culantro leaves. Pour in the 5 cups of liquid and add the boiled red beans.

4. Simmer with Pumpkin: Add the auyama chunks and place the whole bunch of cilantro on top. Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer on medium-low for 20 minutes until the pumpkin is completely fork-tender.

5. Thicken the Gravy: Pour in the additional 1 cup / 240 ml of water. Remove the cooked bell peppers, onion, culantro, and a few chunks of pumpkin from the pot and blend until completely smooth. Pour the purée back into the beans and stir well.

6. Finish: Simmer uncovered for a few more minutes, stirring occasionally, until the gravy reaches your preferred consistency. Discard the cilantro stems and serve over white rice.

Additional Notes

Beans: I used dried beans soaked overnight rather than canned. I reserve the water from boiling the beans and use it as the liquid for the stew — don't throw it away. I'm sure canned beans work fine, but I've always used dried so I can't personally confirm.

Dominican Oregano: Make sure you're using Dominican oregano specifically — it makes a difference.

Thickening the Gravy: When I first made this it came out watery and I didn't know why. The technique that fixed it was removing the cooked vegetables and some of the pumpkin, blending them, and pouring it back in. Keep in mind the gravy will continue to thicken once you take it off the heat. If it's still not thick enough, just blend more of the pumpkin — easy fix.