Black Beans and Rice

Does anyone have a good recipe for black beans and rice (Cuban style)? Every recipe I try seems to be lacking some spice or seasoning and I can't figure out what it is!

quote:

Originally posted by Poopy

Does anyone have a good recipe for black beans and rice (Cuban style)? Every recipe I try seems to be lacking some spice or seasoning and I can't figure out what it is!

Here's a recipe for black beans and yellow rice that sounds pretty good:

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 teaspoon butter
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped celery
1/4 cup chopped green pepper
1 can (15 ounces) black beans, drained
1 can (14.5 ounces) diced tomatoes with juice
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon dried leaf oregano
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon hot sauce
1/2 cup long grain white rice, uncooked
1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
PREPARATION:

Heat vegetable oil and butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add onion, celery and green pepper; cook, stirring constantly, until tender.
Stir in drained beans, tomatoes, sugar, oregano, basil, garlic powder, pepper, salt, and hot sauce; bring to a boil.

Reduce heat, and simmer, uncovered, 15 minutes or until thickened, stirring frequently; set aside.
Cook rice, following package directions, with the addition of turmeric to the cooking liquid.

Serve hot black bean mixture over rice.
Serves 2.

Not sure if this is Cuban and it uses canned beans and prepackaged seasoning, but my family thinks it's real good.

2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup chopped onions
1/4 cup chopped green peppers
2 cloves of minced garlic
1 (15 ounce) can Goya black beans (undrained)
3/4 cup water
1 teaspoon oregano
1/4 teaspoon sugar
1 package Goya sazon (without annato
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
2 cups cooked white rice (I use Basmati)
Heat oil in a medium sauce pan, sauté onion,green pepper, and garlic until tender.
Add remaining ingredients and stir until boiling, reduce heat and simmer until sauce is reduced - 15-20 minutes.
Sometimes I mash a few of the beans with the back of a spoon while it cooking for flavor and to thicken the sauce. Sometimes I add a can of chopped tomatoes.
Serve over rice.

Don't know if its Cuban or not (didn't get to eat black beans when I was taken there involuntarily years ago) but I just soak the beans, and cook in enough water to cover + an inch with a smoked ham hock, a couple of garlic cloves, bay leaf, thyme & a whole onion with a couple of cloves in it. Usually add some ground cumin & red pepper at the end. Key thing is to not add salt or acid (e.g., tomatoes) until done or almost so. If you do, the skins get tough and no amount of cooking will soften them up (the salt in the ham hock doesn't seem to hurt). Also, this is much better if allowed to sit overnight -- the liqid gets nicely thickened.

Over rice, with chopped scallions on top.

NB: Smoked sausage (andouille, kielbasa, etc.) is also good in this, as is a shot of rum or sherry. I

This is probably not exactly what you're looking for but I couldn't resist posting it because it's so delicious.

BLACK BEANS IN MANGO SAUCE

1 1/ 2 Tbs. olive oil
2 cups minced red onion
1 Tbs. minced garlic
1 3-inch jalapeno chile, seeded and minced
1 1/ 2 Tbs. minced fresh ginger
1 1/ 2 tsp. whole cumin seeds
1 1/ 2 tsp. salt
About 6 cups cooked black beans (or 3 15-ounce cans, rinsed and drained)
6 Tbs. fresh lime juice
2 large ripe mangoes, peeled and minced
Freshly ground black pepper to taste

Heat the oil in a medium-sized skillet. Add 1 3/ 4 cups of the onion, and the garlic, chile, ginger, cumin seeds, and salt. Saute over medium heat for about 5 minutes. Turn the heat down to medium-low, and add the beans and about half the lime juice. Cook for about 5 minutes more until the beans are heated through and then transfer to a bowl.

Stir in the remaining lime juice and the chopped mangoes directly into the hot beans, mashing the mangoes a little as you stir. Grind in some black pepper, then cover and let stand for about 15 minutes to let the sauce develop.

Serve warm, at room temperature, or even cold, topped with the remaining red onion, and some minced parsley or cilantro, if desired.

Good served with plain cooked white or brown rice.

Source: Mollie Katzen’s Vegetable Heaven

Zatarains. Can't beat it.

2 lbs dried black beans
1 baseball size onion, sliced
1 bulb of garlic, pealed and crushed
2 cups MOJO
4 bay leaves
1 lb salt pork
1 or more jalapeno peppers

combine all ingredients in a large pot, add the amount of liquid, stated on the bean packages, place in oven cook at 350, until beans are tender.

When beans are done,

Cuban Pork

take a pork but 2-3 lbs, cut into 1-2 inch cubes
place in a large skillet with

enough olive oil to keep the meat from sticking
2 bay leaves
1 cup of Mojo
1 bulb of garlic pealed and squashed with the side of a knife

brown the meat, then add the above ingredients and enough water to cover the meat and boil 'till the water is gone before the water has evaporated and meat is cooked taste a piece an salt and pepper to taste, when water keep turning the meat and scraping the bottom of the pan until the meat is brown and crispy

remove skillet from the heat and place the pork on a plate with a couple paper towels to drain.

for the rice

drain most of the grease from the skillet and leave the residue from the pork in the skillet

put the directed amount of water for 1 lb long grain white rice, in the dirty skillet with all the crumbs left over from the Cuban pork and bring to a boil

add 1 packet of Badia saffron (available in the ethnic section of the grocery store

add 1 lb long grain white rice simmer 'till rice is done.

Cubans eat allot of garlic, change according to taste.


Enjoy,

Reaper

enginecapt, you beat me to it.

MOJO is def. the secret!
Use it in mine all the time....

I don't mean to be stupid, but what is MOJO?

quote:

Originally posted by Poopy

I don't mean to be stupid, but what is MOJO?

It's a liquid seasoning,(you can find it in your ethnic section of your grocer, or make it)consisting of(usually)olive oil, garlic, lime juice, salt, pepper..you could make your own variations by adding hot peppers as well.

This might help:

http://www.sunkist.com/recipesearch/displayrecipe.asp?id=555&servings=4

quote:

Originally posted by rmcielwain

This might help:

http://www.sunkist.com/recipesearch/displayrecipe.asp?id=555&servings=4

Wow, now that sounds delicious. Where in the heck would I find tangerine dust?

And the answer is:

http://www.mv-voice.com/morgue/2004/2004_04_23.recipes.shtml

quote:

Originally posted by rmcielwain

And the answer is:

http://www.mv-voice.com/morgue/2004/2004_04_23.recipes.shtml

The word "morgue" in that link is scaring me, I'll venture in though.

Rusty, I have no idea why the word "morgue" is used in their address.
Mountain View seems to be a nice (and somewhat expensive, rent-wise) community
right in the middle of Silicon Valley.

try this, for MOJO



http://www.goya.com/english/products/product.html?prodSubCatID=11&prodCatID=4

Love this site learn something new everyday I've been around a long time and never heard of tangerine dust whats next Grape dandruff? Chow Jim

Yet another recipe:

MOROS Y CRISTIANOS (Black Beans & Rice)
Source: Memories of a Cuban Kitchen by Mary Urrutia Randelman

3 tb olive oil or a little bit more
1 onion chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed in a mortar
2 cans black beans, undrained
2 cups long grain rice
3 cups water
2 tsp salt or to taste
1 bay leaf
2 more tbs olive oil
1/2 tsp ground cumin
ground black pepper to taste

In a large caldero (or a paella pan with cover) heat the olive oil until fragrant. Add the onion, green pepper & garlic. Cook, stirring until brilliant in color and slightly soft. Add the remaining ingredients and cook without moving the rice, uncovered, at medium high heat until all the water has been absorbed and small craters form over the surface of the rice.

Stir from the bottom up, cover & cook over LOW heat, without moving or uncovering the rice, for 18 to 20 minutes, until the rice is tender. Discard the bay leaf & serve. It is delicious with Masitas de Cerdo

http://recipes.epicurean.com/recipe/17698/masitas-de-cerdo-(pig).html

and Yuca hervida with Mojito Sauce (Sliced Yuca root is steamed, then fried, and served with garlic & lime juice mojo with lightly sautéed onions).

Another Cuban/Puerto Rican delight:

http://icuban.com/food/tostones.html

This recipe, which I make regularly, was given to me by the non-English speaking Cuban grandmother of a good friend. It, along with grandma (who, I'm sure, has passed away by now), came from Cuba in the early 60's.

CUBAN BLACK BEANS

Soak overnight covered with water by at least 2 inches: 1 lb dried black beans, picked over to remove foreign matter

Add soaked beans to large, heavy pot along with:

2 tbsp olive oil
1 15-oz can peeled tomatoes (I like them tomatoey, I sometimes use a 28-oz can)
1 large bay leaf
1 small onion, peeled and quartered
1/2 medium green pepper
1 large clove garlic, minced
4 strips bacon or salt pork

On the stove, cook for about 3 hours until beans are tender and beginning to break down. I often do this in a crock pot, but it requires longer than you might think--at least 12 hours but often longer.

When beans are done, remove and discard bay leaf and any remaining chunks of onion and green pepper.

Heat in a medium skillet and saute':

1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped green pepper (use the other half of the pepper used above)

When the onion/pepper are beginning to soften, add and cook 2 additional minutes:

1 large clove garlic, minced
1 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp cumin
2 tsp salt (or more to taste)
2 tbsp good red wine vinegar

Stir this mixture into the beans and add:

1/2 tsp hot pepper sauce (e.g. Tabasco) or more to taste

Serve beans over cooked white rice with a sauce consisting of:

2/3 cup good olive oil (I use extra virgin) and 1/3 cup good red wine vinegar (or sherry vinegar works great too), shaken together. Individual diners can sprinkle sauce over beans and rice to their taste.

Having re-read the above recipes about the MOJO, I'm guessing the oil/vinegar sauce is a home-made version of that and you might try using a store-bought version if you want. I do it grandma's way.

You can also order MOJO thru Dinosaur BBQ.. I have a bottle in my fridge, along with 3 other types of their sauces.
https://dinosaurbarbque.com/store/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=DS&Category_Code=Sauces

http://francieweb.jimkelleher.com/cuban/

I would never use sugar......you can save yourself a lot of time by using sofrito, instead of olive oil use a little *LITTLE* aciote or annato oil for flavor.

Here's my variation on my grandmother's recipe. These are approximate measurements though, since I just kind of pour things in and taste periodically.

CUBAN BLACK BEANS

1 16-ounce package of black beans
8 to 10 cups water
1 onion, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil, plus a little more for sauteeing
4 to 6 cloves garlic, peeled and mashed
1 teaspoon oregano
1-1/2 tablespoons ground cumin
1 bay leaf
2 red wine vinegar
2 teaspoons sugar
2-3 teaspoons salt
pepper to taste

Soak the beans overnight. Put the water, beans and 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large pot. Bring to a boil, and then reduce the heat to a simmer, and cook for about one hour, or until they're tender. The beans can be cooked in a pressure cooker to cut the time in half.

In the meantime, sauté the onion, green pepper, and garlic until the onions are translucent. It's a good idea to add the onions first and then the garlic and pepper, since these two tend to cook more quickly.

Add the onion, green pepper, garlic, oregano, cumin, bay leaf, salt, pepper and sour orange juice to the beans while they're cooking.

Remove a cupful of beans and mash them to a paste. Return them to the pot to create a thick broth. Add the sugar and a bit more olive oil, to taste. Cook for another 15 minutes on very low heat.

Serve over white rice.