Beans and all legumes are the primary source of protein in many cultures. Whether it appears as breakfast in a traditional English fry up, or in Italy with rice as risi e bisi or with cheese and tortillas from local taco truck, beans are a delicious, affordable meal, any time of day.
I was recently inspired by on of our readers Facebook post featuring rice and beans that she made for dinner. This prompted me make a dish of traditional stewed beans served with rice that is the corner stone of most meals all over Latin America and the Caribbean, but I have also included a fried egg. If you are vegan, you can substitute with seasoned sautéed tofu.
Preparation of this dish can be simple if you have cooked large amounts of rice during the weekend to use throughout the week. If you have not cooked beans in advance, organic canned beans are fine but if you soak beans in water the night before, you will have soft, delicious beans in an hour or so. Always remember to boil without salt or any other condiment or they will never get soft. After they are soft you can add your sofrito or any other aromatics. If you make more than you can use, beans freeze well in ziplock bags for use in another dish.
Ingredients:
1 cup of dried beans soaked overnight, will double once cooked (or one can of beans of choice)
1 cup of rice, cook in rice cooker to become about 2 1/2 cups of cooked rice
1 egg per person
Chopped fresh tomatoes and avocado for garnish
Sofrito
1 small onion
1 small bunch of cilantro
1 green bell pepper
1/2 jalapeno or favorite spicy pepper, deveined and seeded
1/4 teaspoon of dried oregano
1 clove of garlic
1 tablespoon of tomato paste
Saute until lightly caramelized in order given, adding the tomato paste last before adding the beans with all their liquid.
Fried Egg
After all your ingredients are cooked and ready to plate, fry eggs either sunny up or over easy and serve on top of your beans, rice and veg and add your garnish!
