Mom's Authentic Puerto Rican Rice and Beans

Ingredients

• Beans

  Kidney, mature seeds, sprouted, raw

  100g

• Pink beans

  Mature seeds, raw

  454g

• Beef broth soup

  Bouillon, consomme, prepared with equal volume water

  600g

• Bay

  Castella

  100g

• Beans

  Kidney, mature seeds, sprouted, raw

  100g

• Olive oil

  Salad or cooking

  2 tsp or 9g

• Onions

  Raw

  ½ cup, sliced or 58g

• Green bell pepper

  Sweet, green, raw

  ½ cup, sliced or 46g

• Cilantro

  Latin - Melissa's

  ¼ cup or 4g

• Garlic

  Raw

  3 cloves, minced or 9g

• Tomato sauce

  Canned

  1 cup or 245g

• Home recipe salad dressing

  Cooked

  3 tsp or 16g

• Rice

  Long Grain & Wild, with Herb Seasoning - Wegmans

  100g

• Olive oil

  Salad or cooking

  2 tsp or 9g

• Onions

  Raw

  ⅓ cup, sliced or 38g

• Green bell pepper

  Sweet, green, raw

  ⅓ cup, sliced or 31g

• Cilantro

  Latin - Melissa's

  ¼ cup or 4g

• Garlic

  Raw

  2 cloves, minced or 6g

• Tomato sauce

  Canned

  ½ cup or 123g

• Home recipe salad dressing

  Cooked

  3 tsp or 16g

• Adobo

  Castella

  ⅛ teaspoon or 13g

• Pigeon peas

  (red gram), mature seeds, raw

  425g

• Water

  Plain, clean water

  3 cup or 710g

• White rice

  Long-grain, regular, raw, enriched

  2 cup or 370g

Directions

1. Soak the beans and bay leaf for 6-8 hours in 6-8 cups of water or broth; you want about 1 inch of liquid on top of the beans. I recommend soaking your beans for no more than 8 hours. You can soak at room temperature.
2. After you soak the beans, bring beans to boil for 1-2 minutes, then reduce heat to low, cover and simmer gently for 1-2 hours or until beans are tender and soft. The last half hour that your beans are cooking you can begin to make your sofrito (see below), or once the beans are done cooking you can turn the heat off and allow the beans to sit while you cook your sofrito. It's just up to your advancement level of cooking and preference. REMOVE THE BAY LEAF BUT DO NOT DRAIN THE BEANS. The liquid is essential to the recipe!
3. How to make Sofrito (for 1 pound beans): Sofrito in spanish means sauce -- very traditional in many of the main staple foods in Puerto Rico: Add oil to a medium skillet and place over medium heat. Once oil is hot, add in onion, green pepper, cilantro and garlic. Saute until onions are translucent and green peppers soften, about 3-5 minutes. Bring heat to low and add tomato sauce, sazon and simmer for 2-3 minutes until sauce comes together. Add your sofrito to the beans (remember you were not supposed to drain the beans) and simmer uncovered over medium low heat for 20-30 minutes, stirring occasionally, so that the spices infuse with the beans. After that, turn the bean off and cover so that they keep the heat while you finish making everything else. They should stay hot enough for an hour or so.
4. While the beans are simmering with sofrito, start making the rice: Add oil to a medium pot and place over medium heat. Once oil is hot, add in onion, green pepper, cilantro and garlic. Saute until onions are translucent and green peppers soften, about 3-5 minutes. Bring heat to medium-low and add tomato sauce, sazon and adobo and simmer for 2 minutes until sauce comes together. Next add in entire can of pigeon peas (with the liquid -- DO NOT DRAIN) and 3 cups water, and bring to a boil. Once it boils, stir in 2 cups of rice, cover, reduce heat to low and simmer 20 minutes or until rice is tender.
5. Once beans and rice are done, taste both and adjust seasonings as necessary, including adding more salt.
6. How to serve: add rice and beans to a bowl with extra sauce from the beans, garnish with cilantro and a few avocado slices. You can also add hot sauce if you like a little heat. Serves 6.
7. Recipe by: Monique Volz of AmbitiousKitchen.com (source: https://www.ambitiouskitchen.com/video-moms-authentic-puerto-rican-rice-and-beans/)

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• Puerto Rican Style Beans