Sometimes it pains me to look back at older post. The recipes weren’t always the best and the photos make me cringe. Yet, I leave everything up because it is good documentation on growth and development.
I recently received a comment on an older post of Gallo Pinto. At first I was taken aback (I always am when people come off rude and angry) and I went to trash the comment because frankly, it’s my blog and I hate negativity.
Then I re-read the comment (which was actually a recipe) for Gallo Pinto and then looked at my original recipe. The second I looked at my recipe, I knew the commenter was right and I was actually kind of upset with myself. For some of the recipes up here, I make them occasionally and then sometimes they make their way out of the rotation.
So I set out to right my wrong (and also travel back to Costa Rica through food.)
The secret to this standard Tico dish is the Salsa Lizano. However, one disadvantage of living in small towns is the lack of grocery choices (I couldn’t even find coconut oil at the store!) So, thanks to the a Serious Eats Recipe and the commentor, I was able to make due with Annie’s vegan Worcestershire sauce and a pinch of cumin (I don’t like strong cumin flavor so I backed off of this a little.)
Sometimes growth taste good….
- ½ cup brown rice
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- ½ medium onion finely diced
- ½ medium red pepper finely diced
- 1 clove garlic minced
- ½ cup black beans with liquid
- 2 tablespoons Annie’s Worcestershire Sauce (or Salsa Lizano)
- salt and pepper
- Handful of cilantro
- Prepare rice according to package (I swear by my rice cooker now) with the addition of adding the cumin before cooking.
- While rice is almost done cooking, heat sunflower oil over medium heat. Add in onions and saute until the onions become translucent. Stir in peppers and garlic, continue to cook until pepper is cooked through. Stir in beans (with juice), Worcestershire sauce, and salt/pepper. Continue to cook until the liquid has mostly disappeared (about 4-5 minutes.) Stir in cooked rice and part of the cilantro (or if you want the rice separate, just stir in the cilantro.) Cook for 1-2 more minutes. Serve with extra cilantro, cooked eggs, or hot sauce.
*Recipe adapted from Nick Kindelsperger over at Serious Eats and Aaron, the commenter on my blog…
