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Best Beans and Rice Recipe

Pressure Cookers

Beans and rice. Just the mention of this dish can invoke memories of a simple yet delicious plate, full of flavor, culture, and memories. For many, beans and rice is a connection to family, to grandparents, and to a simpler time. For others, it is a memory of a trip to a foreign land, full of mystery, romance, and amazing food. For such a simple dish, there are thousands of ways to prepare it. Here is my take on how to prepare the perfect plate of beans and rice. First off, you’ll need:

1 pound of dried beans (kidney or pinto are best)
1 red onion, diced
1 green pepper, diced
1 tomato, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
vegetable oil
chicken bouillon cube (I like cubito maggi, chicken flavor)
salt
pepper
paprika
cumin
cilantro
3 cups long grain parboiled white rice

Optional: meat, cheese, egg

Directions:

The night before you want to make the beans and rice, soak the beans. Give them a quick once over, removing any debris or stones, rinse them once or twice, and then leave them to soak in a good amount of water overnight. The next day, you’ll notice the beans have increased in size considerably. Rinse them a few times, and then it’s time to cook them. The easiest and quickest way to d this is in a pressure cooker. You can also cook them in a regular pot, it will just take much much longer. Place beans and fresh water in your pressure cooker. In a medium sized frying pan, saute diced onion, green pepper, tomato, and garlic in 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil. Add chicken bouillon cube and a teaspoon each of paprika and cumin. When the vegetables are nice and soft, puree them in a mini food processor and and add the mixture to the beans and water. Close the lid to the pressure cooker, and cook according to your pressure cookers directions. I cook mine for about 40 minutes and let the pressure release on it own. Once cooked, if they are a little too watery, just pour off the extra cooking liquid. Add a generous amount of chopped fresh cilantro. I really like the flavor the cilantro adds, so I use about three or four tablespoons, you can adjust as you see fit. Give the beans a taste, add salt and pepper to taste if you need it.

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Now the beans are done, so its time to make the rice. You can also make the rice while the beans are cooking. In a large heavy pot, heat 2 tablespoons of oil. Add three cups of rice and a tablespoon of salt. Saute the rice just for a few minutes, you don’t want to brown it. Add four cups of water and mix well. When the mixture starts to bubble, cover and reduce the heat to medium/medium low. Let cook for twenty minutes. The only truly important key to cooking really good rice is to use oil and salt, and don’t, I repeat, don’t remove the lid at all during the cooking process.

Time to eat! You can eat the bean and rice by themselves as a meal, or add a fried egg, piece of meat, chicken, or a slice of good cheese. The best part of beans and rice is that its cheap, simple, delicious, and really lends itself to so many variations. Enjoy!