Beans with sweet, the epic story behind this dish

The Dominican origins of the sweet beans and their link with the death of the son of God are as uncertain as the huge number of names that the legume has. From beans native to indigenous lands, for whom it was a food as common as it is today throughout Latin America, even beans and their derivativespart of which is attributed to an Arab origin, as these were the liberators of the grains, which during the Middle Ages were cultivated in Europe for animals and as a food supplement for the poor.

The Arabs knew that they were very healthy and developed advanced farming systems and promoted their consumption.

Other versions coin some of their names to the Jews, not because they are thrifty, but because of their custom of keeping the Sabbath, that they cooked them Friday to eat them on Saturday of rest.

This version makes sense to Dominicans that, since a Wednesday before spring, Lent brings us to our knees to stamp its entry stamp, and there is not a weekend where beans are not cooked with sweet, rather, they are not eaten because thanks to our Lord, who died for us, solidarity is still latent among relatives and neighbors, who send their cantinita or notify them to come and pick them up with sweet potatoes, raisins and cookies, so as not to lose the habit.

The history of our recipe is so epic that could be a best seller shakespeare: a young mulatto with a couple of instilled values, asked in marriage the hand of the daughter of the Frenchman from Saint Domingue who had vegetable farms in Haiti. The father availed himself of the prohibition against blacks, mulattoes or slaves marrying whites and the brave Haitian, taking advantage of the blacks’ rebellion, in revenge for his heartless spite, killed his pretender and part of the females of that family, forcing the father and those who could be saved to emigrate to the Spanish Santo Domingo. During a friend’s visit they had a French snack with sugar beans, milk-based candies, and pickled fruits, among others. After that, the already Dominicans liked the combination and the custom of eating sugary beans, dairy products were incorporated until the recipe that today is the heritage of the Dominican people was born.

The broad beans that in Europe were always linked to superstitions, Rome had such a bad view that even looking at them could cause evil eyes, to the point that they have their recipe for “broad beans of the dead”, which is eaten on the day of the dead. The old though chickpeas, lentils or peas enjoyed good vibes, beans in Egypt were considered an impure legume. There are witch tales and even best-selling works of magic beans. I never understood why in Andalusia and the Canary Islands they coin the name habichuelas for beans, depending on the variety or the stage in which they are (beans when they are green, kidney beans, kidney beans, kidney beans, beans when they are dry, etc.) .

In this bright country we redeem it, die for it and celebrate its ascension when the doorbell rings that transcends our doors. We associate sweet beans with the date of the Passion and Death of our Lord Jesus Christ, but what most do not know is that legumes are harvested in spring and, although our children will believe that all things come from the supermarket and that they are always found there, at this time of year and naturally, beans are cooked everywhere.

As you want them!

Join the tradition of distributing beans with only a one-pound bag, boiled in water with cinnamon and then blended and adding a liter of milk, an evaporated milk, a coconut milk, a pound of cream sugar, cloves, vanilla and a pinch of salt. Let it boil until they reduce and acquire an intense and bright color. This is the trick to avoid flatulence and make it last several days in the fridge without spoiling. Serve them with raisins, sweet potato cubes and casabe or milk cookies.

Source-listindiario.com