Foodie Blogroll

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Black Beans and Rice

A friend of mine who now lives in the Huston area was visiting my family (and hers) in Michigan this summer. She was talking with my sister and said she likes reading my blog but would like to see more gluten free, dairy free recipes. I do have several recipes already that are gluten free, and even dairy free (or easily made dairy free), but I have not labeled as such. I am not that well informed on where you can get gluten except wheat. So with that I believe this could well be a gluten free/dairy free recipe. So here's one for you Kelly!

When I make my black beans I never use a recipe, so I think that's why it took me so long to post them. My daughter loves black beans and would eat black bean soup every other day if she could. The soup is another one I don't really make by a recipe. I do always have black beans on hand whether it's organic canned or organic dry beans. I just bought a pressure cooker so now I can make dried beans fairly quick!

Anyway I tend to make them more the Cuban style black beans, because that is what we are used to around here. Cuban style black beans also work well for my husband (who doesn't like it as spicy as I do) Cuban style doesn't add a lot of heat.

I will do my best to write the recipe for you...I could of sworn that I wrote it down the last time I made these...now where is it? You know I will come across it after I have already posted this!

Black Beans and Rice

ingredients:
2 cans of organic black beans (or 3 cups cooked from dried)
2 tablespoons oil (for sauteing the onions and garlic)
1 onion chopped
3 cloves garlic smashed then chopped
2-3 bay leaves
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon oregano (I used Mexican oregano)
1 tablespoon pomegranate molasses (I used this instead of sugar)
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar (or apple cider vinegar)
1/4 cup red wine (optional) or sherry
water with the cooked dried beans or you can add some broth with the rinsed canned beans
salt and pepper to taste when beans are cooked


directions:
If using dried beans wash and pick through 2 or 3 cups and soak them overnight in 6 cups of water, drain. In a 6 quart pot add water and beans and a little olive oil to keep in from foaming (like you would in a pressure cooker). Cook beans for 1 hour.

In a large enough pot or Dutch oven add some oil and saute the onions with a little salt to draw out the sugar (some like green peppers, but my husband doesn't so I skip them) until tender, add the garlic cook just until fragrant (we don't want to burn the garlic. Add the cumin, oregano, stir cooking for a minute. Add the beans with the water they were cooked in (or if using canned rinse well and add a little water or broth) bay leaves, vinegar, pomegranate molasses, wine or sherry. Sometimes I will add some recaito - cilantro cooking base if I have an open jar in the fridge. Cover and cook for 20 - 30 minutes stirring occasionally, and you can adjust the liquid to your preference. Salt and pepper to taste...remove bay leaves.

Serve it over rice, like my cilantro rice . Garnish with some toppings of choice, like diced tomatoes, onions, or a slice of lime, fresh cilantro, crumbled cheese, or like my daughter does she tops it with...you guessed it...sour cream.

If you have any questions feel free to ask, I hope it was clear enough. Or if you have any additions that you like to use in your beans and rice, please share!

25 comments:

  1. I bought a pressure cooker too..just haven't used it. I'm sort of afraid to use it. I don't eat black beans that often. This sounds like a great recipe to try.

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  2. This is definitely gluten-free and definitely delicious. I love that you used pomegranate molasses in it!

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  3. this is one of my favorite food combinations ever!

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  4. Love all the ingredients you used in this dish!!! I love rice and beans and this recipe sounds wonderful.

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  5. I'm definitely saving this recipe. It sounds so delicious :) We adore black beans in this house

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  6. To tell you the truth, I seldom follow a recipe when I cook unless there is a particular dish (entirely new dish with all new ingredients) I wish to try . I like how the black beans bulk up the rice.

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  7. I love beans with rice...using pomegranate molasses is a lovely idea :-)

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  8. When I was single, I'd make a big pot of beans and rice and eat off it for the rest of the week. Cheap and lazy cooking!

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  9. I love black beans and rice. So healthy and full of fiber...yum!

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  10. This is a great dish, so healthy and satisfying at the same time. Its important to have a few great vegetarian recipes up your sleeve.
    *kisses* HH

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  11. A really healthy and delicious lunch treat.

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  12. Love this combo..looks oh so yummy!!

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  13. Bo - I know I feel the same way. I've only used it once and that was making these black bean so far.

    Joanne - I thought the pom molasses would work because of the sweet/tart-ness of it. I usually like using lemon for the acid rather than vinegar, but it worked well here and I skipped the sugar called for in many recipes.

    Simply Life - Me too you really can't go wrong with beans and rice.

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  14. Erica - thanks so nice of you to say.

    Parsley Sage - I know you'll enjoy it.

    tigerfish - I with you on that. I never follow a recipe, always change it, but now for the blog I have to write down what amounts I think I used and hope the novice cook can make it. Like in this recipe I didn't measure the dried beans and water just eyeballed it and pretty much with everything else too.

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  15. Perfect looking black beans and rice combo, would love it any day :)

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  16. Rachana - thanks, I think the pomegranate molasses will make it in many of my bean dishes.

    TKW - I think we could do that too, and it's so filling. Better than the cheap instant noodles.

    Nutmeg Nanny - you are so right!

    HH - We do eat vegetarian often w/o really trying. This is a very satisfying dish.

    Angie - yes so good for you

    Sarah - thanks

    Gloria - thank you

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  17. A delicious dish! I was wondering if this was called morro y Cristianos or something like that to refer to the Spaniards and the Moors when they occupied Spain, as I saw a similar dish in Spain. I am inspired to try it next time.

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  18. never tried cooking black beans this way. Souns healthy to me though!

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  19. If you want to give it that taste without using hte green bell peppers you can use "Aji Cachucha"/ "Cachucha Peppers" like they have the taste of a Habanero but without the spiciness (you can literally pop these in your mouth and eat them straight) they can be used in any Cuban recipe to substitute green bell peppers. You can always use a sweeter red bell pepper too :)

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  20. i love how you substituted sugar with pom molasses! i'm going to try it myself since black beans are a staple in my house! loove it.

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  21. I bought some black beans to cook in my pressure cooker, but haven't done it yet. I'd love to hear how you do yours.

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  22. I normally don't eat black beans but eating them with rice got my attention. I didn't think of this cooking method before. Looks delicious Lyndsey!

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  23. tasteofbeirut - not sure if that is where this came from. We just can get black beans served liked this most anywhere down here, and it was the Cuban influence that we see. I will have to check that one out.

    Lena - That's the way we eat it, it just goes together - black beans and rice.

    Nathan - That sounds good the flavor of a habanero w/o the heat. I will look for that pepper thanks!

    Bren - thanks, I thought it would work using the pom molasses because of the sweet/tart flavor...and I have two bottles of it :D

    Barbara - I pretty much followed the manufacturers directions to cook the beans in the pressure cooker. I believe it was 2 cups dry beans to six cups water, 3 T oil, 2 bay leaves. Bring it to pressure, then turn heat down, but keep it at pressure for about 25 minutes.

    Nami - thanks, we love black beans and rice and it's so popular in this area. It's a staple in out house too. It is also very filling and satisfying. You can always adjust the seasoning, but it's full of flavor without the heat (which is good for my husband).

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  24. We seldom have black bean in this way. We usually used them in boiling soup cause it's good for healing.
    Kristy

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