Puerto Rican Rice and Beans

adapted from More with Less' Puerto Rican Rice and Pigeon Peas

Serves 8 (main dish servings)
Soaking time: 8 hours • Passive cooking time: 2 hours • Active cooking time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

1/2 lb. dried pigeon peas, pinto, or kidney beans
4 cups water
3/4 cup tomato paste
1/4 cup fat
2 tomatoes, chopped
1/2 green pepper, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
2 cups cabbage, finely chopped
1 tsp. oregano
1 tblsp. capers with juice
1 tblsp. salt
2 cups uncooked rice (I used short grain brown)
6 cups bean liquid and water


Steps:

1. Sort through the dry beans, rinse with cold water, and cover with an inch of water. Let soak for 8 hours until rehydrated. After rehydrating, drain and rinse the beans. Return to a large pot and cover with 4 cups water.

2. Bring to a boil, skim off foam, and let simmer for an hour to an hour and a half, stirring occasionally. At this point, beans should be quite tender. Drain beans and set aside, reserving the remaining bean liquid.

3. Saute vegetables in 1/4 cup fat (I used olive oil). When veggies are tender, add tomato paste, spices, rice, and liquid. Stir well.

4. Cook at moderate heat 15 minutes. Stir. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer until most of liquid is absorbed and rice is fully cooked (approximately 25 minutes).

Notes: All I can say about this recipe is: DELICIOUS! This recipe makes a lot of food. We have been eating it for lunch and dinner for days and I'm still not sick of it. It's strange, because it's so similar to other recipes we've made, but this one really is the best. I highly recommend it!

A word of warning

When I say to sort through your dried beans before rinsing and soaking them, I'm not joking around. These are actual pebbles found among our dried beans. Just imagine expecting to bite into a cooked pinto bean and instead chomping down on that! That would be an immediate visit to the dentist! Keep this picture in your head the next time you're considering not sorting through your dried beans before soaking.

Spiced Chickpeas with Greens and Quinoa Pilaf

Once again, I'm going to refer you to the Rice of Life blog, for his recipe of Spiced Chickpeas with Greens and Quinoa Pilaf. We happened to have most of the ingredients on hand, and with a few small substitutions (spinach for the swiss chard, and dried cranberries for the raisins), voila, dinner! I highly recommend this recipe. It was simple and tasty and held up well for leftovers. Have I convinced you yet to add Rice of Life to your blog reader?

Tunisian Red Bean Stew

adapted from the International Vegetarian Union's Tunisian Yam and Red Bean Stew

Serves 10 (main dish servings)
Soaking time: 8 hours • Passive cooking time: 4-6 hours on high, 8-10 on low • Active cooking time: 15 minutes

Ingredients

1/2 cup small dried red beans, sorted, rinsed, and soaked 8 hours (or 1 can small red beans)
1 large onion, chopped
2 large red bell peppers, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons fresh ginger, minced or 1 tsp ground ginger
2 medium potatoes, chopped into 1/2-inch cubes
3 cups vegetable stock or water
2 large tomatoes, diced or 1 (14 ounce) can diced tomatoes
1-3 jalapeno pepper, minced (adjust this to your preference)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 cup creamy peanut butter


Steps:

1. Sort through the dry beans, rinse with cold water, and cover with an inch of water. Let soak for 8 hours until rehydrated. After rehydrating, drain and rinse the beans.

2. Add rehydrated beans and all ingredients except peanut butter to a crock pot, and mix well.

3. Cover and cook either 4 to 6 hours on high or 8 to 10 hours on low. After cooking, make sure potatoes and beans are tender.

4. About 10 minutes before serving, ladle some of the stew juices into a bowl and mix in the peanut butter. Stir well. Add mixture back to crockpot.


Notes: This recipe originally calls for yams. As DH does not care for yams, we substituted potatoes. This stew came out a little thinner than I like, so next time around, I would add only 2 cups of liquid. The stew turns out surprisingly spicy, to adjust the spices if you don't like spicy. No rice in this recipe, but it could easily be served over rice. We served this with corn tortillas on the side.

Historical context: Tunisia is the northern most country on the African continent and benefits greatly from its trade with Europe. Tunisian food combines Arabic, Mediterranean, Middle Eastern and French influences. In Tunisia, it is said that the amount of love a wife feels for her husband is measured by the amount of hot pepper she puts in the meal. So if you can handle the spice, add some peppers for your spouse/partner!

5/26 EDIT: On subsequent servings of this stew, I found I grew very tired of eating it. Not a good sign for me! I doubt I will be making this one again. You've been forewarned.

Mexican Beans and Rice

adapted from Rice of Life's Mexican Rice and Beans

Serves 4 (main dish servings)
Soaking time: 8 hours • Passive cooking time: 2 hours • Active cooking time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

1 red onion, diced
1 green pepper, diced
2 cups dried pinto beans, sorted, rinsed, and soaked
2 cups brown rice
4 tbsp tomato paste
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
cilantro, chopped
wedge of lime
1/2 avocado, sliced
salt to taste


Steps:

1. Sort through the dry beans, rinse with cold water, and cover with an inch of water. Let soak for 8 hours until rehydrated. After rehydrating, drain and rinse the beans. Return to a large pot and cover with 6 cups water.

2. Bring to a boil, skim off foam, and let simmer for an hour to an hour and a half, stirring occasionally. At this point, beans should be quite tender.

3. Saute onion in a little bit of oil until soft. Add green bell peppers and saute until soft. Add pinto beans, spices, and tomato sauce. Stir until everything is well mixed and there is a nice sauce for the beans. If necessary add small amounts of water to thin the sauce (in 1/4 cup increments). Add salt to taste and adjust spices, as necessary.

4. Serve over brown rice. Garnish with cilantro, lime wedge, and avocado.

Notes: This recipe sort of tasted to me like what pinto beans and mexican rice would taste like if you mixed them together. Very comforting and easy. We served them with tortillas on the side.

Cajun Red Beans and Rice

adapted from the American Feast's Sustainable Food Blog Red Beans and Rice

Serves 6 (main dish servings)
Soaking time: 8 hours • Passive cooking time: 2 hours • Active cooking time: 25 minutes

Ingredients

1 tsp liquid smoke
2 cups Dry Red Kidney Beans
3-4 Bay Leaves
2 Tablespoons Crisco Shortening or butter
6 Celery Stalks, Diced
1 Large Spanish Onion, Diced
1 Bunch Scallions, Diced
3 Green Peppers, Diced
1 Tablespoon Dried Thyme Leaves
3/4 Teaspoon Dried Oregano
1/2 Teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
1/2 Teaspoon Black Pepper
Salt to Taste
2 Cups Uncle Ben's or Carolina Rice
3 Cups Water


Steps:

1. Sort through the dry beans, rinse with cold water, and cover with an inch of water. Let soak for 8 hours until rehydrated. After rehydrating, drain and rinse the beans. Return to a large pot and cover with 6 cups water. Add liquid smoke and bay leaves.

2. Bring to a boil, skim off foam, and let simmer for an hour to an hour and a half, stirring occasionally. At this point, beans should be quite tender.


3. Saute celery, onion, and peppers in Crisco or butter until soft. Add to simmering beans. Add in remaining spices and let simmer an additional half hour.

4. While beans are simmering, bring 3 cups water and 2 cups white rice to a boil in a small saucepan.

5. When beans and rice have finished, serve 1 cup beans over a half cup of rice. Add salt as desired.

Notes: This recipe originally calls for simmering the beans with a ham hock. As we eat largely vegetarian, I omitted that step, and instead included the teaspoon of liquid smoke. This recipe comes out a little spicy from the cayenne and pepper, so if you are sensitive to spice, consider using less.

Historical context: Red beans and rice is a staple of Cajun cooking. Doing the research for the recipe, I learned that Cajun territory encompasses Louisiana south of US Highway 190 and west of the Mississippi River, while Creole is considered the New Orleans area specifically. This recipe features the "Cajun trinity" of onion, bell pepper, and celery. These three items are the base seasoning mixture for most recipes such as gumbos, jambalayas, etouffees, sauces, chili and stews.

Crockpot Egyptian Lentils and Rice

adapted from the International Vegetarian Union's Egyptian Lentils and Rice

Serves 6 (main dish servings)
Soaking time: none • Passive cooking time: 8 hours on low, 4 on high • Active cooking time: 15 minutes

Ingredients

1 cup brown lentils
4 teaspoons olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1/2 cup rice (I used short grain white rice)
5-6 cups water or homemade vegetable stock


Steps:

1. Measure the olive oil into the bottom of the crock pot, making sure to coat the bottom. Turn the crock pot on the highest setting and add onions. Allow onions to warm up and get soft in the oil, approximately 10 - 15 minutes.

2. Add all remaining ingredients, including water or stock.



3. If leaving the crock pot going all day, turn to low and cook for 8 hours. If you want it done quicker, cook for 4 hours on high. Stir once an hour, if possible.


Notes: Start with 5 cups of water or stock. You can always add more if the recipe is too thick. This recipe called for 1 tsp of salt, which I would omit next time around since I used chicken stock (which is often salty).

I love crock pot recipes. There is just something about throwing a bunch of ingredients in a cylinder and then coming home to dinner when you get home from work. This is the first beans and rice recipe I've made in the crock pot and I will definitely be doing so again. It's so easy and creates a hearty dish for dinner or lunches. We served ours with some tortillas, but I think it would be great with pita bread or naan or similar leavened flatbread.

Historical context: Egyptian cuisine is a rich and varied blend of Mediterranean and Middle East flavors. Lentils are extremely popular in Egyptian dishes, and this dish is no exception. Egypt receives very little rainfall, and must depend on crops that can grow in desert like conditions, or in the Nile's flood plains. This recipe is similar to the Egyptian dish, Koushari, which contains lentils, rice, macaroni, and chickpeas in a tomato sauce. (I'm sure I will be trying that recipe out as well.)

Chana Masala

adapted from Rice of Life's Chana Masala

Serves 4 (main dish servings)
Soaking time: 8 hours+ • Passive cooking time: 20 minutes • Active cooking time: 10 minutes

Ingredients

1 tbsp olive oil or ghee
1/2 tsp turmeric
1 small red onion, diced
1 small can tomato paste
1/2 tsp garam masala
1/4 tsp ground coriander
1/4 tsp ground cumin
1/2 lb dried (or 2 15 oz cans) garbanzo beans
1/4 cup coconut milk
1/2 tsp salt
juice of 1 lemon
a few sprigs cilantro, chopped (for garnish)


Steps:

1. Rinse and sort the garbanzo beans and soak for at least eight hours. When beans have been rehydrated, drain and rinse with cold water.

2. In a large wok or skillet, heat olive oil or ghee at medium high heat. Add turmeric. Add onion and cook until golden brown and fragrant, about five minutes.

3. Add tomato paste, garam masala, ground coriander and cumin. Cook for another five minutes, and stir to form a nice paste.

4. Add garbanzo beans (with about 1/2 cup water). Add coconut milk and stir. Reduce heat to medium low and cook for another ten minutes or so. The beans will be saucey. Remove from heat.

5. Add salt and lemon juice. Serve on plate with basmati rice. Add cilantro as garnish.




Notes: Ameet Maturu of Rice of Life was kind enough to let us share his recipe for Chana Masala with you. We served our Chana Masala with Phul Gobi (bell peppers and cauliflower) and brown rice. This was one of those recipes where I made a mistake and added the whole can of tomato paste instead of 2 TB as the recipe called for. Instead of freaking out about it, I turned it in to a positive by adding some aromatic coconut milk we had on hand from the Gado Gado recipe. It added a bit of depth to the sauce that I was quite happy about.

This recipe also marks the first time I have ever used ghee. I made my first batch of ghee and then used it for the recipe, and let me tell you, it made such a difference! Such a rich and delicious taste! I highly recommend cooking with ghee, especially for Indian recipes.

Historical context: Chana Masala is a North Indian / Pakistani chickpea curry dish. I have seen this described as "comfort food" time and time again, and it is no wonder that this dish remains one of the most popular dishes at Indian restaurants worldwide!