Name: Sopas De Habichuelas Negra - Black Bean Soup
Ingredients: 1 lb. of dried black beans; 1/2 lb. of cooking ham ( ham steak) sliced into cubes; 2 - Bay leaf; 1 - Tablespoon of oregano; 6 - Tablespoons of sofrito ( check the foundation page for this recipe); 2 - Quarts of cold water; 4 - Table spoons of olive oil; Salt and pepper to taste

Why it works: Beans and olive match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,470 recipes. Both carry trans,trans-2,4-nonadienal, which smells fatty, green. The science ↓

Sopas De Habichuelas Negra - Black Bean Soup

Time1 hour

Ingredients

1 lb. of dried black beans
1/2 lb. of cooking ham ( ham steak) sliced into cubes
2 - Bay leaf
1 - Tablespoon of oregano
6 - Tablespoons of sofrito ( check the foundation page for this recipe)
2 - Quarts of cold water
4 - Table spoons of olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Prepare the beans

Place beans in a 6- to 8-quart soup pot, remove any damaged or broken beans and stones, rinse under cold running water and drain.
If you plan to make the soup the next day, soak the beans overnight in water just enough to cover them. On the next day, drain the soaking water and add 2 quarts of fresh cold water, bring to a boil, then lower heat and let simmer.
If you plan to cook the soup the same day, add enough cold water to cover the beans, place on the range with high heat, bring to a boil, turn off the burner, and let stand for 1 hour.

Make the sofrito base

In a hot frying pan, pour in 4 tablespoons of olive oil and 6 tablespoons of sofrito. Cook slowly over medium heat for about 2 to 3 minutes, then add the cubes of ham. Continue sautéing until the flavors combine and the sofrito turns light brown.
Remove the pan contents and pour them into the bean pot. Return the pan to the stove and deglaze with 1 cup of broth from the soup pot.
Scrape the bottom of the pan and reduce the liquid by half. Pour the remaining liquid into the soup pot.

Simmer and serve

Add the remaining ingredients (ham, oregano, salt, pepper) and let simmer slowly, stirring occasionally. Cook covered for 1 hour, then remove the cover and let the broth thicken to a not-too-thick consistency.
Serve with a teaspoon or two of chopped raw onion sprinkled on top.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

738Calories

61 gProtein

43 gFat

23 gCarbs

Counts 8 of 9 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 8 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Beef	100g cooked	250
Pork	100g cooked	242
Olive Oil	1 tbsp (14g)	119
Black Bean	1/2 cup canned (120g) drained	114
Black Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Oregano	1 tsp dried (1.8g)	5
Bay Leaf	1 leaf (0.6g)	2
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0
Water	not in our table	0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

Beans + olivetop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together3,470 recipes

Shared aroma: trans,trans-2,4-nonadienal (fatty, green).
Oregano + olivetop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together3,443 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-hexenal (green, leafy).
Oregano + peppertop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together3,449 recipes

Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
Beans + oreganotop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together453 recipes

Shared aroma: hexyl acetate (fruity, apple).
Beans + peppertop 11% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together4,733 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Dried black beans: Form the body of the soup and thicken the broth as they break down during simmering.
Ham: Adds savory, smoky flavor that deepens the soup as it cooks.
Sofrito: Provides an aromatic base; browning it builds deeper flavor in the soup.
Olive oil: Carries the flavors of the sofrito and ham and helps them brown in the pan.
Oregano: Adds herbal aroma to the broth.

The step that matters

Browning the sofrito and ham. Cooking the sofrito until it turns light brown develops deeper, savory flavors through browning. Cooking too hot or too briefly can leave it raw-tasting, while scraping up the browned bits when deglazing returns that flavor to the broth.

Swap the oregano

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (beans, ham, olive, pepper):

Rosemaryfits better
Thymefits better
Parsleyfits better
Oreganothe original

Fit is the average pairing score against beans, ham, olive, pepper. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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Sopas De Habichuelas Negra - Black Bean Soup