About this Dish
Black beans and white rice cooked together — one of Cuba's most fundamental dishes, the name (Moors and Christians) a reference to the dark beans and white rice. Eaten as an accompaniment to virtually every Cuban meal. The beans must be cooked from dried, not tinned, with sofrito (tomato, pepper and onion base) for the depth that makes this a dish rather than a side.
IngredientsServes 4
🫘Dried black beans, 300g
🍚Long-grain white rice, 300g
🧅White onion, 1 medium, finely diced
🫑Green bell pepper, 1, finely diced
🧄Garlic, 4 cloves, minced
🍅Tomato, 1 large, finely chopped
🫒Olive oil, 3 tablespoons
🌿Dried oregano, 1 teaspoon
🧂Salt, 1.5 teaspoons, plus more to taste
🥄Ground cumin, 1 teaspoon
Method
1
Soak the dried black beans in plenty of cold water overnight, or for at least 8 hours. Drain, then cover with fresh water in a large pot and bring to the boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 1 to 1.5 hours until the beans are completely tender but still holding their shape. Reserve all the cooking liquid — this is essential.2
In a large heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and green pepper and cook for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring often, until soft and just beginning to colour at the edges.3
Add the garlic and cook for one minute until fragrant, then add the chopped tomato, cumin, oregano and salt. Stir everything together and cook for another 5 minutes until the tomato breaks down into a thick, fragrant sofrito paste.4
Add the drained cooked beans to the pot and stir to coat them thoroughly in the sofrito. Pour in enough of the reserved bean cooking liquid to measure 600ml total liquid in the pot — the dark cooking water gives the finished dish its deep colour and flavour.5
Rinse the rice under cold water until it runs clear, then add it to the pot and stir once to combine everything. Bring to a vigorous boil, then reduce the heat to the lowest possible setting, put a tight-fitting lid on, and cook undisturbed for 18 minutes.6
Remove from the heat and leave the lid on for a further 5 minutes — do not lift it during cooking or resting. Fluff gently with a fork, taste for salt, and serve. The finished dish should be dark, fragrant and slightly sticky, with every grain of rice stained by the beans.7
Remove from heat and leave the pot covered for 5 minutes without lifting the lid. Fluff gently with a fork to separate the grains — the finished dish should be dark, fragrant, and slightly sticky where the beans have melted into the rice.User Reviews
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