Beans and Rice

I've been wondering what all the hype was about regarding beans and rice.  But I love beans, I love rice, why not love them together?  I realized also that one of my favorite prepackaged frozen meals is Santa Fe Style Rice and Beans.  Well, favorite is maybe an overstatement.  It's good for a frozen diet entree.  Anyway, Dan's mom gave us some gourmet heirloom beans for Christmas, and I had a ton of rice, and I didn't have much of anything else in the house, so tonight we ate Beans and Rice.  It was pretty damn good--and CHEAP.  Here's the recipe:

Serves about 4

• 1 cup dried beans (small red beans, black beans, kidney beans, navy beans, cranberry beans, black eyed peas, etc.   We used Rio Zape beans tonight, which are similar to pinto beans)
• 4 cups cold water
• 2 tsp. salt

1. Combine the above ingredients in a large bowl or a saucepan before you go to bed.  If you're thinking that the salt is going to make the beans tough, I assure you they won't.
2. The next night, when you're ready to cook, drain and rinse the beans, discarding the soaking water.  Then place the beans into a medium saucepan and add about 6 cups of water.  Also add 2 slices of bacon, cut into 1/2" pieces.  If you are cooking black beans, add a pinch of baking soda to keep them from changing color.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 40 minutes to an hour; until the beans are tender.  Since the pan is covered, you shouldn't need to add any more water, but if you notice that it's getting low or the beans are sticking to the bottom of the pan, it's OK to add more.
3. While the beans are cooking, chop 1/2 a red onion, and mince 2 cloves garlic.
4. When the beans are done, set a strainer into a large bowl and strain the beans out, but save about 2 cups of the cooking liquid.  You will use this for the sauce.
5. Return the saucepan to the stove, put over medium heat, add about 1 tsp. vegetable oil and saute the onion until soft.  Then add the minced garlic, 1/2 tsp. chili powder, 1/2 tsp. ground cumin, 1/2 tsp. dried oregano, 1/4 tsp. ground coriander, 1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper, salt and black pepper to taste.  Cook until fragrant.  Next add 2 Tbsp. tomato paste; stir to combine.  Add some of the cooking liquid and stir, scraping up anything that might be stuck to the bottom of the pot.  Add the beans back to the pot, and then add as much or as little liquid as you'd like.  Simmer covered for about 10 minutes, then uncovered for another 10 minutes.  You want the flavors to concentrate and the sauce to thicken a bit.  How thick is up to you.  Don't forget to taste the beans and adjust the salt!  While the beans and sauce are simmering, cook your rice.  When the rice is done, it's dinner time. 

To serve, top a portion of rice with the beans and sauce.  Then top with sour cream and lime juice or a little vinegar to taste.

Seriously folks, this stuff was good.  The beans we had were from a company called Rancho Gordo.  I'd check them out if you're interested in eating some beans you've possibly never heard of.  A pound of beans runs about $4.95, but it's still a cheap meal, since you're only using about 1/3 of a pound of beans.  Also, the oregano I used is from this company also, and it was amazing.  I'm officially a fan! 

Happy Cheap Cooking!