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Black Beans and Rice
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Serves 3-4 as a main dish (or 6-8 as a side dish)
INGREDIENTS
This is one of our favorite go-to weeknight meals when we only have about half an hour to put something healthy together. While beans and rice are both individually lacking in some amino acids, the two form a complete protein when combined! This is an affordable and satisfying meal that also makes great leftovers for the next day's school or work lunch.
Serves 3-4 as a main dish (or 6-8 as a side dish)
INGREDIENTS
- 2 15.5 oz cans of black beans, drained and rinsed
- 2 cups long grain rice (I usually use basmati or jasmine)
- 3 cups water
- 3-4 tbsp olive oil
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 3-4 cloves garlic, minced (feel free to use more if you're a garlic lover!)
- 1 green pepper, chopped (you can sub in red, cubanelle, etc.)
- 1/2 cup fresh cilantro, finely chopped (optional, can also sub in 1/4 cup dried cilantro)
- 1 tsp ground cumin*
- 2 tsp dried oregano*
- 1 tsp achiote or turmeric* (optional)
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 tsp KBS Sweet and Hot Peppers (optional)
- 1 cup vegetable or chicken broth
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper to taste
Instructions
- NOTE BEFORE STARTING: While you can certainly begin by sautéing your chopped onion, garlic, green pepper, and cilantro in olive oil, I like to make this recipe even quicker by getting out my mini food processor and blending these ingredients into a quick basic sofrito, which is a recipe base that is often used in Puerto Rican cooking. If you blend the onion, pepper, garlic, and cilantro into a puree, you don't have to go through the trouble of chopping them into small pieces and the flavors will begin to work together right away! I often make sofrito in larger batches and freeze it in small containers for future recipes.
- Heat olive oil in a medium saucepan or small dutch oven over medium high heat. Add onion, garlic, green, pepper, and cilantro (or blended sofrito) to oil and sauté for 3-5 minutes or until fragrant.
- Add cumin, oregano, achiote or turmeric (if using) and KBS Sweet and Hot Peppers (if using). Cook for another minute until spices become fragrant.
- Add black beans, bay leaves, salt, pepper, and water or stock. Increase heat to high and bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer for about 15 minutes, or until much of the liquid has evaporated and the beans have a thicker, stew-like consistency.
- While the beans are simmering, cook rice according to package directions. (For basmati, the ratio is generally 1 cup of rice to approximately 1 1/2 or 1 3/4 cups of water - bring rice and water to a boil, then lower heat and simmer, covered, for about 12-13 minutes.)
- Before serving, be sure to taste your black beans to see if they need more salt.
- To serve, some people like to simply put a scoop of rice in a bowl and top it with a scoop of beans. Others prefer to mix the rice and beans together right in the pot and then serve. Either way, enjoy!
- NOTE: You can definitely cook everything in one pot if you prefer - just add the rice at the same time as you add the water or broth, and use 3 1/2 cups water (or all broth) instead of the 3 cups of water and 1 cup of broth in the recipe. However, I have often just made the beans by themselves if I have leftover rice from another meal, so I wanted to offer the recipe both ways!