Scraping the Skillet

So, originally I was planning to post a true German Apple Pancake recipe today. Thing is, the recipe I tried this weekend was…well, it was absurdly sweet*. And really eggy. And not exactly what I was going for. Stay tuned, though, I’ll be doing some more research and bringing those almost-savory apple pancakes to you shortly.

Instead, I bring you the meal that saved our aching stomachs after we ate the INSANELY sweet pancake I made. This simple, humble meal? Black Beans & Rice.

D and I met in a sort of study abroad program in college. I say “sort of” because we were only abroad for a month of the semester. We spent most of our time in D.C. interning and studying all things International Environment and Development. Then we went to Costa Rica for a field practicum. Which is another way of saying that our program paid for all 12 of us to go on vacation** for a month.

Anyway, while in Costa Rica we ate a lot of beans and rice – the start of a love affair. Back at school for our last years of undergrad (and our first years living off campus) we ate a LOT more rice and beans – in all permutations. More recently, D has been traveling to Miami every month and always makes a point to fill up on Cuban rice and beans. This dish is his version. Maybe you could call it “Cuban-New Mexican Beans & Rice?” Whatever it is called, D whipped this up while I was in a food coma from the pancake…

Again, we cooked the beans in the pressure cooker. 4 hours of soaking and 10 minutes cooking time at pressure. Can’t beat it! After they were done cooking, we rinsed the beans and added the rest of the ingredients to the pot. If you wanted, you could make this even heartier by adding chicken or, as I did today for lunch, topping with a fried egg.

Black Beans & Rice

• 5 1/2 c black beans, cooked and rinsed (2 c uncooked)
• 1 lg or 2 medium onions, diced
• 1/2 t salt
• 2 fresh green chiles, diced
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 1 T Ancho chili powder
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 oz dark chocolate
• 3 c chicken broth, approximately
• dash of Worcestershire (optional)
• 3 c long grain white rice
• 5 c water

Toss all but the last two ingredients into a large pot on your stove top. Turn up the heat and get things simmering. The chicken stock should just barely cover your beans. Easy, right? Simmer for 45 minutes to an hour.

Set your rice and water up in a smaller pot (or your rice cooker). Cook for 20 minutes or until rice reaches desired consistency.

Serve the beans atop the rice. Mmmm…

*Panic: did I measure wrong? No, no. The Cooking Light recipe really called for that much sugar!
**That is, of course, if you define vacation like we do: learning and exploring. We weren’t laying on the beach all day, every day. Only one or two of the days