Sos pwa was one of my favourite Haitian dish growing up. It is basically a bean sauce that can be made from one of many types of beans (e.g. kidney, pinto, garbanzo or pigeon peas). As far as I can remember, I have always had Sos pwa made out of boiled and crushed red kidney beans. As it is indeed a sauce, it is meant to be eaten with plain white rice or cornmeal (Mayi Moulen is an Haitian version of Polenta). I, however, to the great despair of my Haitian Mom, prefer to eat it as a vegetable soup and pour myself big bowls to enjoy with no rice at all…
Sos pwa (bean sauce)
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| Serves | 4-6 |
| Prep time | 45 minutes |
| Cook time | 1 hour, 30 minutes |
| Total time | 2 hours, 15 minutes |
| Meal type | Soup |
Ingredients
- 2 cups dried red beans, rinsed (the redder the better!)
- Shallots, (chopped (to taste))
- 8 cups of water
- 1 cup of cubed smoked ham
- Garlic cloves, (chopped (to taste))
- Salt, black, and hot pepper to taste
- Small quantity of oil (one to two tbsp or so)
- 1 plantain banana at any stage of ripeness (optional)
Directions
| 1. | Cleanse the beans, then put them in a pot of water. Cook for about 1h30. When they are tender (the point of becoming porridge), turn off the heat |
| 2. | Remove ¾ of the beans and leave the rest in the cooking water. Reduce the ¾ in a blender to a puree. Add 4 cups of warm water to the puree. Stir well and pass through a sieve. Add the resulted liquid to the cooking water and dispose of waste |
| 3. | Reignite the fire and add salt, pepper, cloves, garlic, parsley, peeled plantain and pepper |
| 4. | In a skillet, heat 3 tablespoons oil, add the ham and shallots. Let cook for 5 minutes and pour in the beans. Reduce heat, simmer about 45 minutes |
