Our cooking class needed a vegetarian lunch dish to power up before devouring our chocolate salami. When I consulted my friend Roberta, she suggested rice and beans, a staple of the Brazilian diets.
How fortunate! It is also a staple of our diet and a favorite of the Yummies. Is there anyone who doesn’t love rice and beans or eat them in some form? What is the Brazilian version?
Well, now, I am pretty sure that I will be immediately called out by the Brazilians on this one. This dish might be more appropriately called “Brazilian Rice and Beans via New York” since we took out the the bacon that is supposed to be included and added the carrots to the beans. Come to think of it, the beans are pretty much whatever we decided they needed to be with the only known Brazilian influence being the bay leaf. I was all set to add sage since Roberta swore that is what all Brazilians add. I chopped it up and left it there on the cutting board to add at the end.
By the time I got back to the board, the sage had been tossed out by Roberta’s mom. It was lost in translation, apparently, since Sonia said she had never even heard of adding sage to her beans. So, we’ll leave that call up to you.
Whatever you decide, these are hearty and the perfect warm up dish before delving into serious holidays sweets.
Brazilian Rice and Beans (with a TYM twist)
For the Rice:
*2/3 finely diced onion
*pinch of salt
*2 T. olive oil
*1 c. rice
*2 c. water
Big Person: Warm the olive oil in a large, heavy bottomed pan over medium heat. Throw in the onions. Saute till the onions turn golden, 10-12 minutes.
Add the rice and cook, stirring, till the rice absorbs the oil and becomes translucent. Add the water and a pinch of salt and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low. Cover and cook for 10-15 minutes, or until the rice is soft but not mushy.
For the Beans:
*6 c. black beans (or pintos), cooked or canned
*2 teaspoons cumin
*salt, to taste
*a bay leave
*2 T. olive oil or butter
*1 1/2 c. grated carrots
*1 small onion, chopped
*2-3 cloves of garlic, minced
Together: In a large bowl, stir together the black beans, the carrots, the cumin, and the salt (start with one teaspoon of salt and add more to taste at the end). Add the bay leaf (whole).
Big Person: Warm the oil or butter over medium-low heat. Add the onion and saute till translucent. Add the garlic and, stirring, saute a minute longer. Pour in the bean mixture and cook down until most of the water evaporates. Discard the bay leaf. Season to taste.
Serve a scoop of beans over a bed of rice and enjoy.
