From Scratch

This has probably happened to you: you start searching online for one thing and end up with another. In this case, I was looking for Cuban-style yellow rice and black beans and after a few clicks I was at red beans with white rice billed as Jamaican. I suppose the coconut milk is partly the reason for the name along with the fact it’s cooked with an uncut hot pepper, which infuses the rice with only the hint of heat.

This is a one-pot wonder and makes a huge amount, serving many as a side dish or several, as I’m using it, as a main dish with the complete protein provided by the rice and beans combo. You can make it on the stovetop or in a rice cooker, as I did. Fast, simple and tasty.

I found this at a blog called Closet Cooking, by a Toronto man with a closet-sized kitchen. Anyone who’s lived in a big city apartment can relate to that. He tried it with brown rice, which sounds delicious, but with the unattended prepartion of a rice cooker, I wanted a sure bet first time out. On the stovetop, where I could keep an eye on it, I’d certainly use brown rice and probably add some broccoli florets.

Rice is bland enough on its own and the coconut milk makes it blander, so you’ll want to season this aggressively. I used about 1 heaping teaspoon of coarse salt and ended up adding salt before serving. That’s something I rarely do. Next time I’ll also slice the pepper in half to get some heat. I used one called (generically, I think) a Firebomb and they’re not nearly as hot as the Scotch Bonnet in the recipe.

This recipe follows my changes; the original is here.

Jamaican-style Red Beans and Rice

2 cups raw rice
2 cups water
3 scallions, sliced thin, white and green parts
2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
1 Scotch Bonnet pepper, washed and left whole
1 large (19-ounce) can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 (13.5-ounce) can coconut milk, well-shaken
2 - 3 tsp dried thyme
salt and pepper to taste
chopped flat-leaf parsley for garnish, optional

Stovetop: Combine all ingredients in a large pan, bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer till liquid is absorbed, about 20 minutes. Remove hot pepper. Transfer to a serving platter and sprinkle with parsley, if desired.

Rice cooker: Place all ingredients in the cooker and turn on. When done [it took 20 minutes in mine ~ ella], stir and re-cover and leave on Keep Warm for 10 minutes so liquid becomes fully absorbed. Remove pepper and serve as above.

Serves 10 -12 as a side dish or 5 - 6 as a main dish.

Metric cooks: Use a standard teacup to measure each cup of rice and water and you should be fine. That’s how 19th century cowboys did it and it became the basis for our cup system when measurements were standardized by Fannie Farmer in 1896. So she’s who we thank or blame for American volumetrics.

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