{"id":2294,"date":"2021-02-25T15:07:45","date_gmt":"2021-02-25T20:07:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.agooddish.com\/?p=2294"},"modified":"2021-02-25T20:49:28","modified_gmt":"2021-02-26T01:49:28","slug":"when-you-cant-find-your-favorite-black-beans-and-rice-near-you-make-them-yourself","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.agooddish.com\/?p=2294","title":{"rendered":"When You Can’t Find Your Favorite Black Beans And Rice Near You, Make Them Yourself"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Black Beans and Rice<\/span>
Square Earthenware Bowl by Joe Pintz<\/a><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Black beans and rice were one of our most reliable dining out options when our son was young. He loved eating rice and beans<\/a> and we were happy to eat something I didn\u2019t cook. Our two favorite spots were Caf\u00e9 Con Leche, a block away from us, and La Rosita de Broadway, a short walk and a good locale to meet friends. They were casual, neighborhood hang outs (Caf\u00e9 Con Leche sponsored Little League teams for years) and liked messy kids and cocktail sipping adults equally, the kind of restaurant we could use more of in our communities. Sadly both those places are long closed. This winter, when we got a yearning for rice and beans, I learned to make them myself.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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The sofrito for this recipe is<\/span>
garlic, green pepper and onion<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Almost every recipe for black beans and rice I consulted had similar ingredients with a few variants. Beans, onions, garlic, bay leaves, peppers and oregano appeared in all of them. Some used red peppers instead of green, some added cayenne or chili powder and some included tomatoes, cumin, cinnamon or orange juice. One even used rum. I tried the ingredients that sounded good to me and then adjusted the spices to try to recapture the flavor in my memory. I don\u2019t remember the beans being spicy but I put out cayenne and hot sauce to suit my family\u2019s preferences. Some recipes call for ham hocks or bacon but I think a little smoked paprika does the same job without the extra fat and salt. If you want more vegetables, add some cut up carrots in the last 10 minutes of cooking or parsley, spinach or arugula just a couple of minutes before you serve the beans.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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Beans soak up all the flavor of the broth as it cooks down<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Burrito made with these black beans and brown rice<\/span>
Oblong bowl by Joe Pintz<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Cooking beans from scratch is easy and economical<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I almost always start with dry beans (unless I am in a hurry) because I like the texture better. They just take soaking and simmering, nothing complicated. But canned beans work fine, too. And if you use a rice cooker, you don\u2019t even have to think about your rice cooking while you pay attention to seasoning the beans. My dishwashing husband thanks the day we got our rice cooker and I stopped burning rice into the bottom of our pots! I like either brown (very non-traditional) or white basmati rice for this dish. Rosita (Cuban) and Caf\u00e9 Con Leche (Dominican) served a choice of white or yellow rice. I make it both ways, depending on my mood. If you are willing to veer non-traditionally, a little dried celery and mushrooms are really tasty additions to the rice. For white, I add garlic and oil. For yellow, I add some turmeric or saffron to color the rice, not so much for flavor as for the nostalgia. Rosita\u2019s and the Caf\u00e9 may be gone but when I cook this recipe, I conjure up the savory flavor of those beans and rice and the good times we had eating there.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Black Beans and Yellow Rice<\/span>
Earthenware bowl by Joe Pintz<\/a><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

BLACK BEANS AND RICE<\/span><\/p>\n