Rice and Beans
Remember the site name ? "Recipes From Venus and Mars". That implies that there should be a recipe for food somewhere, and here it is.
Venetians (are they blind?) and Martians will like this too.
I'm a Southerner, my wife Naty is Dominican and we live in Puerto Rico. So what could possibly be a common favorite at the dinner table? Rice and Beans!!!
We're not talking throwing a can of beans over the top of Minute Rice. Good R and B takes some time and is well worth the effort. Southerners and Hispanics from the Caribbean know the secrets.
Not too many years ago in the San Juan Airport, the employees used to eat in the same cafeteria as the travellers. While the travellers were trying to digest the microwave hamburgers and such at airport prices, the locals knew to ask for Rice and Beans (Arroz y Habichuelas). At a buck-twenty five! Those days are gone but you can still fix your own at home.
Proper Tools:
Don't even attempt this unless you have a good heavy pot for cooking rice. The rest of the implements are common in any kitchen.
Proper Ingredients:
The beans - For the best results, always go with dried red/pinto beans. Its a pain cause you have to soak them overnight. A quicker method is canned red/pinto beans. Here in PR the canned beans are better than dried ones. That's cause the locals seem to prefer canned ones and they are fresher in the Supermarket. One can can serve up to 3-4 people if they're not real hungry.
The rice - Any good long-grained rice will do. Minute Rice is for restaurants-don't waste your time. Now it will be argued forever whether or not to rinse the rice. I do because there's always some trash or damaged grains in rice and you can pick them out while rinsing. I don't wash it too thoroughly, though, to save the vitamins.
Secret Ingredients - A can of tomato sauce (not paste). Any brand will do. Goya has a nice one.
Sopito (bullion cube) The best is a Ham and Pumpkin (Jamon y Calabaza) that is made for this dish. Second choice would be plain ham...third choice Chicken. All do nicely.
Flavoring - Every good kitchen has a jar of some spicy concoction that is popular in the region. Here its a mixture called Recaito. I prefer making my own using real cilantro leaves (coriander), green peppers, onion, a clove or two of garlic, etc all mashed up in a blender. I make a couple jars at a time because it keeps well. But you can find the factory-made Recaito in most US supermarkets.
The rest - some vinegar, some cooking oil, salt to taste.
How to:
Cook the rice...
Use your heavy pot, put on water to boil, add a tsp. of cooking oil and maybe half-tsp. of salt. When it starts to boil, put in about half-cup of rice per person and stir it in good.
Now, spoon out excess water. You should have about half-inch remaining on top of the rice. Keep it on high heat until it starts to boil again.
Let it get boiling good, a minute or two, spoon it around again, lower the heat to "real-low" and cover the pot. Check on it in a few minutes and you're gonna see "dimples" in the rice and the water will appear gone. Spoon it around one more time, cover it and don't mess with it anymore for about a half-hour.
Now when you do open the pot again to check on it, sample a few grains and it should be about ready. Drizzle a couple of tablespoons of oil on it and stir it around again. The oil will go to the bottom to make the con-con, or gratte as Cajuns call it. This will take another 20 minutes or so, depending on how you prefer the con-con at the bottom of the pot. Don't let it burn.
Common Rice Failures...
1. Too much or too little water (sticky or uncooked)
2. Too high a heat in the steaming process. (not fully cooked)
3. You're a health nut and omitted the oil. (all stuck together and no con-con)
4. Not paying attention to the project.
Cook the Beans...
Put your previously soaked or canned beans in a pot with some water and put them to boil, preferably a slow boil, with cover. Soaked beans might want a half-hour or better, canned ones go for about 10 minutes. Keep an eye out and make sure the water doesn't all boil away. Add more if needs be.
About the time they get good and cooked, get out a separate small saucepan and put in the following...
One small can of Tomato Sauce
One sopito (boullion cube)
One tablespoon each of vinegar and cooking oil
A good dollop (2 tablespoons) of your recaito or cilantro mixture.
Mix well and start it cooking, continually stirring it around so that it gets mixed well. Add a couple spoonfuls of your beans, mashing them against the pot to get a pasty texture. Let it cook just for a couple of minutes and then dump it all into your beans, which are still slow cooking.
Let the mixture simmer for another 5 or 10 minutes on low heat. Depending on how thick you like the bean-gravy, you can add water. Check the taste for salt...the boullion usually adds alot of salty taste.
Serving
Some people like their beans to the side, or no sauce, to preserve the rice's taste. Some like it all piled on top. Your choice.
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