Recipe: Easy Beans & Rice

It's been a while since I've posted a recipe, so I've been experimenting. After failing horribly with a curry-style lentil dish, I decided it was time to simplify things. The results: this delicious and easy bean dish.

I cooked mine in a crock pot, which meant the least amount of effort. We found a 2-person crock pot at Fred Meyer's (it's like Target) for $10. It's been one of our best purchases yet! When you use a slow-cooker, there is no need for cooking oil, which can help if you are trying to eat smart. You can cook this dish in a sauce pan too, but you will need to soak the beans over night, or use canned beans.

Ingredients:

1 medium carrot

1/2 onion

2 cloves garlic

1-2 slices wood smoked bacon (this can be omitted)

1 cup beans, any kind

Water or broth

Salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes, to taste

1 cup rice

1 can beets

Cilantro & lime

Step 1.

Chop up the onion. Cut the carrot lengthwise and slice. Add to pot.

Step 2. Peel the garlic. An easy way to do this is cut off the end and then use the flat side of the knife to slightly crush the garlic. This helps loosen the skin so it can be removed easily. Chop up the garlic and add to pot.

Step 3. Rinse the beans and cut the bacon into small pieces. What's nice about bacon is you don't need a lot to add flavor to a dish! The bacon can be omitted if you want a vegetarian or vegan dish, but add some smoked paprika or smoked salt so you're not missing out on that lovely smokey flavor! Put the bacon and beans into the pot.

I used Anasazi beans for this recipe simply because they're beautiful! Black beans would work, too.

Step 4. Stir together all the ingredients, add salt, pepper, and pepper flakes, and add roughly 2 1/2 cups water or broth, or enough to cover. Now cover with the lid and let cook for 3 to 4 hours, or until beans are tender. Stove top cooking time will differ.

Step 5. Serve over rice with cilantro, lime, beets, and hot sauce.

I used fancy black rice that I found at the co-op that my mom shops at. It has lots of vitamins and a nutty flavor, similar to brown rice. How cool is this rice??

If you opt for black rice, here are the cooking directions:

2 cups water for 1 cup rice

Soak the rice while the beans cook.

When you are ready to cook it, bring the 2 cups water to a boil

Add in the rice and reduce to simmer

Cover and cook for 25-30 minutes

Note: If you don't pre-soak the rice, you will need to cook it for 60-70 minutes!

DIY Food

Let's make this:


OK!

You will need:

• A bunch of pots, pans, bowls, dishes, utensils, etc.
• A 10 oz. container of fresh garbanzo beans
• Cooking oil
  
• 1 small red onion
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
• 1 small lime
  
• Salt & pepper
• 1 can of refried black beans
  
• 1 small tomato
• 1 small avocado
  
• 2 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro, stems included
• 2 tbsp Mexican queso fresco (see below for sources)
  
• 2-4 sopes (see below for sources)
  
• Radishes & hot sauce optional

(Makes about 2 servings)

Warning: Turmeric stains like crazy!

Step 1:
Shell the garbanzo beans. This is kind of time consuming, since there is usually only one bean in each pod, so it should be an activity you share with a friend. Otherwise you will spend 30 minutes talking to yourself while you pop garbanzos. Next, bring a pot of salted water to a boil and throw your shucked beans in. Boil them for 3 to 4 minutes and then drain.

Step 2:
Put about a tablespoon of cooking oil in a saute pan and place over medium heat. While the pan is heating up, slice the onion into thin pieces. Add this to the pan when it is hot and stir to coat. While the onion cooks, slice your garlic cloves, but save for later. Optionally, you can just stick them in a garlic press when the time comes. When the onion is just starting to turn translucent, add the garbanzo beans. Stir. Cook for 5 to 7 minutes, stirring occasionally so they don't stick to the pan. Now add the turmeric, more oil if needed, salt and pepper, the garlic, and the juice of half of the lime. Turn down the heat and let cook while you prep the other ingredients.


Step 3:
Place the refried beans in a sauce pan over low-medium heat. Stir occasionally. Put a little more than a teaspoon of cooking oil in another saute pan and place over medium heat. This will be for the sopes.

Step 4:
All of the following ingredients will be prepped and set aside. Dice up the tomato, chop the cilantro, crumble the queso, and slice the rest of the lime, and the radish if you are using it.


Step 5:
The oil in the second saute pan should be hot by now, so now it's time to heat up our sopes. Fry for 3 minutes on each side.

Step 6:
Now to assemble! Take a hot sopes and spread a 1/4 to 1/2 inch layer of refried beans on it. The next layer is the garbanzo and onion mixture. I put about a half cup of this on my sopes, you may need less or more depending on the size of your sopes. Next, comes some tomato, a few slices of avocado, some cilantro, and queso. Garnish with a lime wedge and the optional radish.

Step 7:
Eat it!

The little radishes are from my mom's garden :) They are her first crop!

Sources:
Sopes- They are like tortillas, but thicker. They vary in size. Mine are about 4 1/2 inches across, but I've had smaller ones at restaurants, so it depends on where you get them. I bought these at the mercado (Mexican grocery store) next to my apartment. I imagine they are available at most international food markets and mercados or you can make them yourself! Try this recipe!
Queso- This is a crumbly, mild cheese. It's considered a fresh or "farmer's" cheese. It's available in most supermarkets, but I like to buy it from the mercado, which means I can buy as little as I want, since they sell it by the pound. Queso fresco, queso blanco, queso panel, and oaxaca will all work.