My boyfriend lived in Brazil for two years serving as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the one thing besides acai that he just RAVES about is rice and beans.
so of course I had to try them out!
this was not my first attempt at rice and beans. My first attempt was from scratch, which meant boiling the beans for a full day trying to get them to soften, and ultimately lead to hard, flavorless, and generally disappointing beans.
Not today!
I tried again today because we had a smoked sausage in the fridge and Stephen was doing the puppy-dog pleading thing again. We went with a simple recipe with only 5 ingredients, and it was a big hit. It was delicious! It is 100% Stephen approved, which is amazing because he's pretty perfectionist in all things Brazil.
Rice and Beans
3 cups canned pre-prepared black beans
1 large onion, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 1/2 lb cooked sausage, sliced
salt to taste
olive oil for sauteing
heat olive oil in a saute pan. saute the onions for about 3 minutes, or until clear and browning. Add the sausage and cook for another few minutes, then add the garlic and cook for 3 minutes or until fragrant. pour beans into a separate pot, then add the onion and meat mixture and bring to a boil on medium heat. If there's not enough liquid, add about 3/4 cup water or more depending on taste. Allow it to boil for about 20-25 minutes, and add salt to taste. During this time, cook the rice so it's all ready to go at the same time.
it's as simple as that! Next time we're planning on trying it with pinto beans and bacon, or black beans with bratwurst. It's such a versatile recipe. It can really take whatever beans or meat you like best, and it can be adapted to everyone's taste.
Enjoy!!
