Side Dishes

This page and the Dressings, Gravies and Sauces page personally makes every meal. My father was a cook in the Navy during World War II and Korea Conflict and after he was discharged he became a chef. He taught me that gravies and sauces set the entree but side dishes balance every meal. Not have the correct side dish can make the best entree a disaster.

I was considering something else but I went to the local Hispanic market and purchase some black beans.

When I was in Belize years back I was introduced to Red Beans and Rice. Or maybe it was Rice and Red Beans. I could never remember. You see in Belize if you ordered it one way the beans and rice are combined. If you order it the other way the beans and rice are served separately. So instead of red beans (usually kidney beans) I went with black beans today.

4 quarts of water
1-lb black beans
1 medium white onion
1 14.5-oz petite diced tomatoes
1 jalapeno pepper (de-seed and de-vein for less heat)
1-teaspoon Knorr Tomato Bouillon with Chicken
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon garlic powder
2 cups Basmati or Jasmine rice
1 tablespoon olive oil (if you choose to leave the rice and beans separate)

In a 7-quart pot put 4-quarts of water and 1-lb of black beans
Cook beans at medium to medium high heat. Beans will cook slower but you will not lose nutritional value.
This should take about 3 hours
Finely chop white onion, jalapeno pepper and put into pot of cooked beans
Put in tomatoes, Tomato Bouillon, cumin and garlic powder.
Cook for about 1 hour to soften the onions and let the flavors marry

From here it is your choice. If you combine the rice with the beans then add the rice to the cooked beans. If you need to add more water you may need to. I usually only need to put 1/2 - 1 cup of water.

You want the flavors of the bean juice to flavor the rice and the mixture will end up a thicker.

If you keep the beans and rice separated then put 1 tablespoon of olive oil into a 3-quart pot and heat it at medium heat. Take your rice and in a fine strainer place under hot water to take out much of the starch (3-5 minutes under the hot water). Place rice into the hot oil (it will sizzle). Stir regularly to coat the rice with the oil and the rice will begin to turn slightly yellowish brown (about 5 minutes).
Add 2-3 cups of water to the rice and oil mixture and cook for about 15-20 minutes and stir the rice to break up and clumping.
When the water is nearly absorbed, turn off the the heat and let the rice to absorb the rest of the water (about 5 minutes).
After the 5 minutes use a fork to separate it.