Simplicity




A short post, for a quick and lovely meal. Today’s rice and bean salad was taken from the food section of the Ottawa Citizen a long time ago, and was resurrected from behind a thick wad of papers on the push pin board in my kitchen. A simple main dish, with a few fresh ingredients, is livened up by the addition of orange and lime; the tartness complements the sweetness of the red peppers and the corn nicely. The most important component of this salad is rice, which much be cooked well, until the grains are tender but still a bit firm and don’t collapse into a starchy mush between your teeth (hence, the addition of slightly less water than is used normally). I was liberal with the Tabasco, but you can adjust the spice to your taste, as well as the sweetness – I would suggest being a little bit conservative when you add the sugar, and to increase it slightly if you so desire. I sadly didn’t have any cilantro, but I would imagine that it would be a great addition. This dish would be fantastic with green salad on the side – romaine, cherry tomatoes, red onions, almonds and a light olive oil and balsamic vinaigrette, perhaps?

Caribbean-styel Rice and Black Bean Salad
Adapted from the Ottawa Citizen’s Food section (sometime in July 2012)

Ingredients

-       1 cup long grain white rice
-       1 ½ cups water
-       ¼ cup olive oil
-       juice from 1 large lime
-       juice from 1 medium-sized orange
-       2 scant tbsp brown sugar (see above)
-       2 tsp ground cumin
-       1 tsp chili powder
-       ½ tsp paprika
-       2 tsp Tabasco or other hot pepper sauce (Scoth bonnet would be amazing
-       1 can (19 oz) black beans, drained and rinsed well
-       1/3 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
-       1 medium red bell pepper, diced
-       ½ white onion, diced
-       1 can corn (340 ml), drained, OR 1 ½ cup frozen corn, thawed
-       Salt, to taste

1.     In a medium-sized pot, rinse rice well and add water. Bring the rice to a boil and then cover, reduce heat to the lowest setting, and allow rice to steam until cooked, about 15 to 20 minutes.
2.     Mix all remaining ingredients into a large bowl and set aside.
3.     When rice is cooked, remove from heat and let cool for about 15 minutes.
4.     Add the rice to the other ingredients and mix well. Serve warm or refrigerate and serve cold.

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