Vegetarian Cuban-Style Black Beans and Rice (Moros y Cristianos)
By America's Test KitchenPublished on October 7, 2019
Yield
Serves 6 to 8 as an entree and 8 to 10 as a side dish
Ingredients
Table salt 1 cup dried black beans, rinsed and picked over4 cups water 2 large green bell peppers, halved and seeded1 large onion, halved at equator and peeled, root end left intact1 head garlic, 5 medium cloves removed and minced or pressed through garlic press (about 5 teaspoons), remaining head halved at equator with skin left intact2 bay leaves 1 ½ cups long grain white rice 2 tablespoons olive oil 1 tablespoon minced fresh oregano leaves or 1 teaspoon dried4 teaspoons ground cumin 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar 2 medium scallions, sliced thin1 lime, cut into 8 wedges1 tablespoon tomato paste
Instructions
- Dissolve 1½ tablespoons salt in 2 quarts cold water in large container. Add beans and soak at room temperature for at least 8 hours or up to 24 hours. Drain and rinse well.
- In Dutch oven, combine drained beans, 4 cups water, 1 bell pepper half, 1 onion half (with root end), halved garlic head, bay leaves, and 1 teaspoon salt. Bring to simmer over medium-high heat, cover, and reduce heat to low. Cook until beans are just soft, 30 to 40 minutes.
- Discard bell pepper, onion, garlic, and bay leaves. Drain beans in colander set over large bowl, reserving 2½ cups bean cooking liquid. (If you don’t have enough cooking liquid, add water as needed to equal 2½ cups.) Do not wash pot.
- Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Cut remaining bell pepper halves and remaining onion half into 2-inch pieces and pulse in food processor until chopped into rough ¼-inch pieces, about 8 pulses, scraping down sides of bowl as needed.
- Add oil to now-empty pot and heat over medium heat until shimmering. Add processed bell peppers and onion, cumin, oregano, and tomato paste and cook, stirring often, until vegetables are softened and beginning to brown, 10 to 15 minutes. Stir in minced garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in rice and cook for 30 seconds.
- Stir in beans, reserved bean cooking liquid, vinegar, and 1½ teaspoons salt. Increase heat to medium-high and bring to simmer. Cover, transfer to oven, and cook until liquid is absorbed and rice is tender, about 30 minutes. Fluff rice with fork and let rest, uncovered, for 5 minutes. Serve with scallions and lime wedges.
Yield
Serves 6 to 8 as an entree and 8 to 10 as a side dishIngredients
Table salt
1 cup dried black beans, rinsed and picked over
4 cups water
2 large green bell peppers, halved and seeded
1 large onion, halved at equator and peeled, root end left intact
1 head garlic, 5 medium cloves removed and minced or pressed through garlic press (about 5 teaspoons), remaining head halved at equator with skin left intact
2 bay leaves
1 ½ cups long grain white rice
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon minced fresh oregano leaves or 1 teaspoon dried
4 teaspoons ground cumin
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 medium scallions, sliced thin
1 lime, cut into 8 wedges
1 tablespoon tomato paste
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Table salt
1 cup dried black beans, rinsed and picked over
4 cups water
2 large green bell peppers, halved and seeded
1 large onion, halved at equator and peeled, root end left intact
1 head garlic, 5 medium cloves removed and minced or pressed through garlic press (about 5 teaspoons), remaining head halved at equator with skin left intact
2 bay leaves
1 ½ cups long grain white rice
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon minced fresh oregano leaves or 1 teaspoon dried
4 teaspoons ground cumin
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 medium scallions, sliced thin
1 lime, cut into 8 wedges
1 tablespoon tomato paste
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Table salt
1 cup dried black beans, rinsed and picked over
4 cups water
2 large green bell peppers, halved and seeded
1 large onion, halved at equator and peeled, root end left intact
1 head garlic, 5 medium cloves removed and minced or pressed through garlic press (about 5 teaspoons), remaining head halved at equator with skin left intact
2 bay leaves
1 ½ cups long grain white rice
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon minced fresh oregano leaves or 1 teaspoon dried
4 teaspoons ground cumin
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 medium scallions, sliced thin
1 lime, cut into 8 wedges
1 tablespoon tomato paste
Test Kitchen Techniques
Why This Recipe Works
For our Cuban-Style Black Beans and Rice recipe, we sautéed the aromatics in a pan; this gave the dish a rich backbone. Including onion, green pepper, garlic, and bay leaves in the pot with the rice as it precooked bumped up the flavor. Washing off the rice’s excess starch helped prevent the grains from sticking to one another, and using an oven-based cooking technique ensured that the rice cooked evenly from top to bottom.
Instructions
- Dissolve 1½ tablespoons salt in 2 quarts cold water in large container. Add beans and soak at room temperature for at least 8 hours or up to 24 hours. Drain and rinse well.
- In Dutch oven, combine drained beans, 4 cups water, 1 bell pepper half, 1 onion half (with root end), halved garlic head, bay leaves, and 1 teaspoon salt. Bring to simmer over medium-high heat, cover, and reduce heat to low. Cook until beans are just soft, 30 to 40 minutes.
- Discard bell pepper, onion, garlic, and bay leaves. Drain beans in colander set over large bowl, reserving 2½ cups bean cooking liquid. (If you don’t have enough cooking liquid, add water as needed to equal 2½ cups.) Do not wash pot.
- Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Cut remaining bell pepper halves and remaining onion half into 2-inch pieces and pulse in food processor until chopped into rough ¼-inch pieces, about 8 pulses, scraping down sides of bowl as needed.
- Add oil to now-empty pot and heat over medium heat until shimmering. Add processed bell peppers and onion, cumin, oregano, and tomato paste and cook, stirring often, until vegetables are softened and beginning to brown, 10 to 15 minutes. Stir in minced garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in rice and cook for 30 seconds.
- Stir in beans, reserved bean cooking liquid, vinegar, and 1½ teaspoons salt. Increase heat to medium-high and bring to simmer. Cover, transfer to oven, and cook until liquid is absorbed and rice is tender, about 30 minutes. Fluff rice with fork and let rest, uncovered, for 5 minutes. Serve with scallions and lime wedges.
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