Nicaraguan Rice and Beans

adapted from the International Vegetarian Union's Nicaraguan Rice and Beans

Serves 6, or 4 "hearty" appetites
Soaking time: at least 4 hours • Passive cooking time: 2 hours •
Active cooking time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

1 cup dried pinto beans
1 bay leaf
1 small onion, peeled
1 clove
2 garlic cloves, peeled
salt to taste
1 1/2 cups long grain white rice
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
fresh black pepper

Steps:

1. Sort through the dried beans and remove any dirt, rocks, or beans with holes. Rinse the dried beans in a colander.
Cover the beans with water in a large pot and let soak at least 4 hours.

2. At this point, the beans should be mostly reconstituted. Drain the beans and place in a large pot with 2 quarts of water.
Add the bay leaf, the whole onion, the clove, and 2 peeled garlic cloves. Gradually bring the beans to a boil, and skim off foam that forms. Reduce heat, and simmer beans uncovered until tender, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours.


3. Check that beans are tender, and drain beans and rinse with cold water. Discard the onion, bay leaf, clove, and garlic.

4. About 20 minutes before beans are set to be finished, bring 2.5 cups water and 1/2 tsp. salt to a boil in a large saucepan. Add rice and return to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and let rice simmer, about 18 minutes. Remove from heat and let sit uncovered 5 minutes. Fluff with fork.

5. About 5 minutes before rice and beans are set to be finished, chop the onion and heat oil in a large frying pan. Add onion and brown, approximately 5 minutes. Add rice and beans, and cook until rice starts to brown. Serve in bowls, and add fresh cracked pepper on top.




Notes: This recipe is long on time, but short on active cooking, which I appreciate. On this blog, we will be prioritizing dried beans and this is a perfect recipe to start with as the beans derive much of their flavor from the seasoning in the pot during the long simmer phase. You could actually taste the clove flavor in the beans! In the future, I would probably reduce the oil during the final saute. We added a little Tapatio to our bowls for an extra kick of spice.

Historical context: In Nicaragua, this dish is called Gallo Pinto, and is the "national dish". When the rice and beans are cooked together, the rice takes on some of the color of the beans resulting in a speckled appearance. Gallo Pinto translated means "mottled rooster", which is similar to the speckled beans and rice. Variations exist in almost all Central and South American countries, and we plan to explore each of those in other recipes.