A typical dish from Costa Rica – part 1
I got to know this menu in Costa Rica. It’s cooked mainly on the Caribbean coast.
However, rice and beans are used a lot throughout the country.
Gallo Pinto is eaten already for breakfast. These are black beans with rice and onions. They are accompanied by scrambled or fried eggs.
Rice and beans also form the base of lunch
They are usually accompanied by poultry, fish, or meat. And of course, plantains. Either green, deep-fried, flattened ones – called patacones – or ripe and therefore sweeter ones baked in oil – called maduros.
In Costa Rica, the seasoning is generally not strong, but coriander leaves are never missing. They are also part of this recipe. If you don’t like them, you can replace them with parsley or leave them out altogether.
But I still recommend you to try them, even in smaller quantities. They give the dish that certain something and make our senses go on a journey.
For me, they have definitely become a wanderlust spice.
Today I’ll share the rice and beans dish, which you can easily eat by itself. Next week I will add the chicken dish.
Have you ever eaten rice with red beans?
Prep Time 15 mins
Cook Time 2 hrs
Soaking time 12 hrs
Total Time 14 hrs 15 mins
Course Main Course
Cuisine Centralamerica, Costa Rica
- 80 g kidney beans
- 1/4 pepper bell
- 5 cm celery
- 1/4 onion
- About 1/2 handful of coriander leaves
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 1 sprig thyme
- 3 dl coconut milk
- 120 g rice
- 1 chili pepper fresh
Soak kidney beans overnight in plenty of water (the water must cover the beans well).
The next day, drain the beans and put them in a pan. Cover with fresh water and bring to a boil. Put the lid on the pan and simmer for about 90 minutes. The beans should be soft. Put the beans and their cooking water aside.
Wash the chili peppers and celery and cut them into pieces of about 0.5 cm.
Peel and chop the onion
Chop the coriander leaves
Heat oil in a pan, add beans with cooking water, cover with coconut milk, add chopped vegetables and thyme sprig, and bring to a boil.
Add the rice, cover, and simmer at low temperature (important: low temperature, otherwise the rice will not cook well!) until the rice is done.
Prick the chili pepper several times with a fork and place on top of the bean and rice mixture.
When the rice is stirred, remove chili, stir, and place chili back on top. The chili should just add flavor but not too much heat.
Add more coconut milk if needed.