Recipe of the Week
Black beans and rice
Courtesy of
Tom Barth
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Ingredients
1 lb. black beans, rinsed and sorted
2 Tbsp. margarine
2 onions, coarsely chopped
3-4 bay leaves
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 lb. diced turkey ham
2 10-3/4-oz. cans chicken stock
1 Tbsp. chili powder (or to taste)
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper (or to taste)
2-3 cups cooked long grain brown rice
Method
Cover beans with cold water and boil 3 minutes, remove from heat, and let stand for 1 hour.
Drain beans. Heat margarine in a large heavy pot over medium heat. Add onion and bay leaves and cook until onions are soft. Add garlic and turkey ham and cook for 2-3 minutes more. Add chicken stock, black beans, chili powder and cayenne. Add water to cover mixture if necessary. Cover and simmer beans until tender but not mushy, approximately 2 hours. Stir occasionally.
When beans are cooked stir in brown rice and adjust seasonings and liquid, if necessary. Mixture should be very moist but not soupy. Serve with a green salad and warm tortillas or French bread.
Note: to prepare a nice light brown rice make sure you are using long grain brown rice. Use a ratio of slightly more than 1 part water to 1 part rice (e.g.; 11/8 cup of water to 1 cup of rice) Put rice and water in a heavy saucepan, bring to a boil, reduce heat to a very low simmer and cover with a tight-fitting lid. Cook rice for exactly 31 minutes. Do not remove lid during cooking! After removing rice from heat let set about 10 minutes. Remove cover and fluff rice with a fork.
