Venezuelan black beans and rice

From Cooking Light Magazine:

Venezuelan White Rice
Introduced by the Spanish, rice is a common starch in South America and the Caribbean. The sautéed aromatics make this a natural partner with earthy Simple Black Beans, but it is an appropriate side at any Venezuelan meal.

1 tablespoon canola oil
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1/2 cup finely chopped red bell pepper
1 garlic clove, minced
4 cups water
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups uncooked long-grain white rice

1. Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and pepper to pan; cook 5 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally. Add garlic; cook 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Add 4 cups water and salt; bring to a boil. Stir in rice. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 18 minutes or until liquid is absorbed. Remove from heat; let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Yield: 6 servings (serving size: about 3/4 cup)

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Simple Black Beans
Frijoles is the generic Spanish term for beans, but caraotas refers specifically to black beans, the most common variety on South American and Caribbean tables. These beans cook down to create a thick and rich sauce—good to serve over Venezuelan White Rice. Make the beans up to a day ahead; you may need to add a little water when reheating, as the mixture thickens with time.

1 1/2 tablespoons canola oil
1 cup chopped onion
3/4 cup finely chopped red bell pepper
1/2 teaspoon brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1 cup water
2 (15-ounce) cans 50%-less-sodium black beans, undrained
1 teaspoon white wine vinegar

1. Heat oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion and bell pepper to pan; cook 5 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally. Stir in sugar, garlic, black pepper, and cumin; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Stir in 1 cup water and beans; bring to a boil. Partially cover, reduce heat, and simmer 30 minutes or until slightly thick, stirring frequently. Remove from heat, and stir in vinegar.

Yield: 6 servings (serving size: 2/3 cup)


RESULTS: This was another of those recipes that fell flat. I'm not sure why, it's pretty hard to mess up beans and rice. The rice was actually pretty tasty (I used brown rice and cooked it for longer), but the beans had zero taste. Maybe it was the beans I used, or maybe they just needed more salt, or some other seasoning... I'm not sure. Personally, I would have put a bay leaf or two in the beans as they simmered, and I probably would have put some heat in there, too. Not a keeper.

Honestly, the best thing I had for dinner last night was a tomato, mozzarella, and basil salad, with some of the extra raw green onions and peppers from the beans and rice thrown in. I sprinkled it with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, some salt and pepper, and parsley. The basil and parsley was from my "garden" (by garden, I mean my collection of pots in the backyard). I'll get around to posting about the Great Herb Project of 2008 sometime this week, hopefully. It's been near constant thunderstorms here since yesterday morning, and I hear them starting up again, so if I can't be outside working with the plants, I might as well write about them.


QUESTION: Has anyone tried making the friendship bread, replacing the oil with plain yogurt? There's at least a half a cup of oil in each loaf, and that's just too much. Also, I always thought it was a little on the greasy side, so I thought of reducing the oil, but maybe it's better just to replace it. Thoughts?