Cuban Black Beans & Rice

For supper a couple of nights ago, I made Cuban Black Beans & Rice in my pressure cooker. This is a great recipe! Josh, who does really enjoy meat, nevertheless loves it, and has told me I can make it any time I'd like -- meaning it has become one of our standby recipes. It's simple both in preparation and ingredients involved, and is packed with nutrition. It is also quite inexpensive to make. And what a good use of the pressure cooker! Beans and brown rice are cooked quickly this way. However, if you don't have access to a pressure cooker, it's still a terrific dish -- try adapting it to a slow cooker or over the stove.

Serve with a green vegetable, and maybe some bread or crackers. I love drinking orange juice or eating fruit salad with this; the fresh taste seems to pair well. And the bonus is the vitamin C helps you absorb the iron in the beans!

Cuban Black Beans & Rice

First prepare your beans. Wash, sort, and soak via your preferred method (see below):
1/2 lb. (1 cup) dried black beans

Once soaked, drain, rinse, and set aside.

Chop:
1 medium or 1/2 large onion
2 cloves garlic

In your pressure cooker pot without the lid on, heat:
a bit of oil (a couple of tablespoons)

Add onions and saute. When onions are soft, add garlic and continue to saute. Next add:
3/4 cup brown rice

Continue to saute, stirring often, until the rice is aromatic (you want to give it a bit of a toasting -- though toasting isn't the proper word, as it implies dry heat).

Now mix in:
2 cups plus 2-3 tbsp. water
Drained presoaked beans
2 tsp. ground cumin
2 tsp. bouillon powder (or appropriate number of cubes for 2 cups water)
3/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper (more or less, according to taste)
A bit of pepper, freshly ground if possible

Stir everything together, then close the lid and bring up to low pressure (Note: I am not familiar with the workings of other types of pressure cookers. Mine has two pressure levels, low and high, indicated by a red ring.). Once at pressure, adjust heat to stabilize at that pressure. Set a timer for 25 minutes (high altitude time).

Once the time is up, remove the pot from heat and allow to release pressure on its own.


***SOAKING BEANS***

You can soak your beans (rehydrate them) via several different methods. Choose according to which fits your time schedule and preferences.

Overnight soak. Cover beans with water in the evening before use or at least 8 hours in advance of cooking.

Stovetop quick soak. Cover beans with water (so water is 1-2" above beans) and salt, if desired, in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Remove from heat, cover, and let sit for one hour.

Pressure cooker quick soak. For each cup of beans in the pressure cooker, add 4 cups water and some salt, if desired (1 tsp.). Lock the lid and bring to high pressure, stabilizing at that pressure for 3 minutes. Remove from heat and release pressure by running cold water over the rim of the lid.