Black Beans with Black Rice

I love beans. I cook a lot with beans, but when cooking for myself, I usually cook with a single can. Yesterday, I decided to experiment with cooking black beans from dried beans. It wasn’t very hard (about an hour of cooking, with 5 minutes of onion-slicing and bean-rinsing prep), but it did make an unexpectedly large quantity of beans. So I had some friends over for a burrito dinner. To make rice for the burritos, I used the cooking water left over from the beans to make black rice. Delicious, and Deborah Madison tells me the cooking water is good for me. Black beans take less time to cook than some other varieties of beans, but I’m encouraged by how easy and cheap ($0.99 a bag) the black beans were and will try out some other varieties soon.

Harold McGee in his book, On Food and Cooking, offers some interesting advice on the science behind cooking beans. He notes that greater volumes of cooking water serve to leach color, flavor and nutrients out of the beans and recommends cooking beans in just enough water for them to soak up water and cook (the recipe below calls for 6 cups of water, which is plenty). While a rapid boil will speed cooking times, the turbulence of boiling water can damage the seed coating and cause the beans to disintegrate. He also notes that cooking beans for a long time helps reduce the effects of tough-to-digest, gas-inducing carbohydrates. So keep the heat low and long…

 

Basic Black Beans

from Deborah Madison, Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone

Ingredients

1 1/2 c. black beans, sorted and rinsed

2 t. fresh or dried epazote or pinch asafetida (note: I omitted with fine results)

1/2 onion

1/2 t. dried oregano

Salt

 

Method

Drain the beans, cover them with 6 cups fresh water, and boil them hard for 10 minutes, skimming off any foam that collects on the surface. Add the epazote, onion and oregano. Lower the heat and simmer, partially covered, until the beans are partially tender, about 45 minutes. Add about a teaspoon salt and continue cooking until completely tender, 15 to 30 minutes more. Makes 4+ cups.

 

Black Rice

from Deborah Madison, Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone

Ingredients

2 T. vegetable oil

1/2 onion, finely diced

1 1/4 c. white rice

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1/2 t. anise seeds (optional)

2 c. broth from cooked black beans, or broth + water

1 c. peeled, diced tomatoes, fresh or canned

Salt

 

Method

Heat the oil in a 3-quart saucepan. Add the onion and saute over medium-high heat for 4 to 5 minutes. Add the rice, garlic and anise and stir to coat the rice. Cook until it’s light gold, 3 to 4 minutes, then add the broth, tomatoes and 1/2 t. salt and bring to a boil. Cover and cook over low heat until the rice is done, 15 to 18 minutes (longer if doubling the recipe). Turin into a dish and serve with black beans or other garnish. Serves 4 (main-course sized servings).