Recipe Arroz con Frijoles Negros - Rice with Black Beans

[blades]

Here is one more staple of Cuban comfort food. It is loaded with vegetable protein and is healthy, filling and delicious. Back in the day it was called Cristianos y Moros (Christians and Moors) with the white rice grains representing the Christians and the black beans representing the Moorish invaders to Spain. The term isn't used any more probably because it is politically incorrect. The dish can be a side or even a main course. It is all vegetarian. My recipe makes quite a lot of it. Enough for 12 to 20 people. We separate it into freezer containers and put them in the freezer. Here goes.

Ingredients

2 1lb bags of black turtle beans soaked in water overnight.
1 head of garlic (Not a clove but a whole head)
2 large onions roughly chopped
2 green bell peppers chopped
4 or 5 bay leaves
1 cup olive oil
1 large jar of Spanish pimientos including the liquid in which they are packed. You can buy the pimientos already chopped or you can chop whole ones.
salt and pepper to taste

Method

Drain the water from the beans that have soaked overnight to make sure they are clean. Put the beans in a large pot and cover them with about an inch or two of water and bring them to a boil. Saute the garlic, onions and bell pepper in a skillet with some of the olive oil. These three ingredients are the "sofrito" or Spanish trinity. When the flavors have combined and the ingredients softened a little put the sofrito along with the pimientos, bay leaves, balance of the olive oil and salt and pepper into the pot of beans. Simmer covered for 3 to 4 hours. Keep enough aside for today's meal and freeze the rest.

Cook long grain rice in whatever quantity you want for your meal with two parts water to one part rice. Serve the rice and ladle the beans on top. When we have it as the main course, we top each serving with a fried egg making it a little less than a vegetarian dish. It may make sense to make 1/2 the recipe if you don't have enough freezer space.

 

[caseydog]

That's a little different than what I used to get in Puerto Rico, which as you know, has a lot of Cubans. Basically it's the same, though. I cheat and use canned black beans when I make it.

CD

 

[karadekoolaid]

That dish is great. just a plateful of that with a few slices of fried plantain (or tostones/patacones) and, in the words of Bob Marley, "every little thing, is gonna be alright"

 

[medtran49]

Craig does similar, but uses canned beans, adds some cumin, and uses tomatoes instead of pimentos. He got his recipe from a Cuban. I'm not sure what he does but his are always better than when I make them. I think he does something and keeps it secret.

The above was always called black beans and rice by my friends, and Craig's, whether in English or Spanish. Moros and Cristianos were a dish where the rice was cooked in with the black beans not separately, which of course makes the rice a darker color, i.e. not white white.