Dominican · dessert

Habichuelas con Dulce

Habichuelas con Dulce reads sweetness 7.0, richness 5.3 and fruity 3.9 on Palate's 0–10 flavor X-ray — a Dominican dessert, about 5 hr 19 min. Measured from the recipe itself: ingredients and technique.

The flavor X-ray — six axes, 0–10

The measured notes (of 18)

Sweetness 7.0 · Richness 5.3 · Fruity 3.9 · Floral 3.2 · Salinity 3.1 · Warm Spice 3.1 · Nutty 3.0 · Umami 1.7 · Earthy 1.4 · Sourness 0.6 · Bitterness 0.5

What's in it (14)

Time & effort: about 5 hr 19 min (2 hr 19 min active) · effort: involved

Nutrition (per 100 g, engine-estimated): 118.9 kcal, 2.9 g protein, 5.1 g fat, 19.6 g carbs

Dietary: Contains meat · Contains dairy — engine-derived; double-check anything allergy-critical.

How it's cooked (8 steps)

  1. A sweet cream of red beans, drunk and eaten with a spoon, and made in the Dominican Republic almost exclusively during Lent — it appears in Holy Week and then vanishes for a year. The idea sounds implausible to anyone who has not tasted it; the beans read as a rich nutty cream rather than as beans, closer to a Japanese red bean dessert than to anything savoury.
  2. Drain the soaked beans, cover with the fresh water, and boil about 70 minutes until they are completely soft and starting to break.
  3. Blend the beans with their liquid and the coconut milk for about 4 minutes until absolutely smooth.
  4. Push the purée through a fine sieve, about 5 minutes, pressing hard and discarding the skins. Do not skip this; the skins are what make a gritty batch.
  5. Return the smooth liquid to the pot with the evaporated milk, sugar, cinnamon sticks, cloves, nutmeg and salt and simmer gently over low heat for 30 minutes, stirring often so nothing catches on the bottom. It will thicken to the consistency of single cream.
  6. Add the batata cubes and cook another 20 minutes until they are tender but still holding their shape.
  7. Stir in the raisins, butter and vanilla and cook 10 minutes more.
  8. Cool, then chill at least 3 hours. It thickens considerably as it cools and is served cold in cups or bowls with the milk cookies floating on top or crumbled over. Fish out the cinnamon sticks and cloves before serving.

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Every number above is Palate's engine-measured estimate, computed from this recipe's ingredients and techniques — not human-tasted ratings or reviews.