I was in the mood to try something new for dinner last night, since homemade rice & beans is something I have never attempted before, I tried it out. The recipe I used was a combination of my own favorite ingredients with the instruction from a coworker of mine who is of Spanish decent. I figured, who better to ask for advice about authentic rice & beans than someone who has made and eaten them their whole life!? I chose to make the dish with my personal favorite, black beans. The process ended up being much easier than I anticipated, however it did require some time. The end result turned out to be zestfully delicious (according to a couple of taste testers) and I finally had a chance to use the new immersion blender I got for Christmas!
I prefer most things to have a nice kick to them, so if you don’t share my love for heat, feel free to tone down or omit the spice.
Ingredients:
Uncooked black Goya beans (16 oz bag)
1 medium sweet onion
1 red pepper
4 fresh garlic cloves
1 tablespoon chicken seasoning (Chicken Herbox)
Cayenne Pepper to taste
Salt to taste
4+ cups water
2 cups white rice
Instructions:
Serving size= 6
Rinse beans clean, then place in medium pot with 4 cups water and peeled/ crushed whole garlic cloves over medium high heat (crush the cloves with side of knife). Season beans with a generous amount of salt and chicken seasoning to give a full flavor to the beans (beans are very bland and will soak up any flavor they are cooked in). You may have to add more water as beans continue to cook, if so add 1 cup at a time. Add 2 cups of rice to another pot with water and cook until soft, then drain excess water. Once the beans begin to soften, add chopped onion and red pepper to the pot until everything is tender. When beans are fully cooked there should be some water left, roughly 1/4 of beginning amount, do not drain any excess water. Add Cayenne pepper to taste and mix well. Use an immersion blender or regular mixer to blend about half of bean mixture.
If you like refried beans, after blending bean mixture, add 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil to sauce pan over medium heat and lightly fry them to desired texture.
Serve with cooked rice and garnish with green onion.
Enjoy!!
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