Our babysitter Norma is from Puerto Rico and has added a lot of great recipes to our repertoire. When I bring this dish to work, people ask me who made it for me, since I am obviously not Puerto Rican, and they can't believe that rice and beans can be taught. Norma showed me all the seasonings, including the sofrito, a mixture of fresh coriander, onions and garlic, and green pepper whirled in the blender. Sofrito can also be made with the addition of ajicito dulce, tiny mild hot peppers, if they are available, and culantro, a Puerto Rican herb similar in flavor to cilantro. Green Italian frying peppers and red peppers can be used instead of green peppers. The sofrito freezes well if you make a big batch and is also delicious with stewed chicken. Omit the sliced smoked ham shanks for a vegetarian version, but if you do use meat, the shanks are better than ham hocks or smoked turkey. Pancetta is a nice alternative to shanks, or leftover ham.

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