This is a big dish and enough to serve on it’s own. It also goes well with this spicy chicken dish as helpfully suggested by Noor and Yotam, the authors of the Ottolenghi Test Kitchen Extra Good Things, where the recipe comes from.
Black beans and rice with jammy peppers – serves 6
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 6 cloves of garlic, crushed
- 2 tsp cumin seeds, finely crushed with a pestle and mortar
- 2 tsp coriander seeds, finely crushed with a pestle and mortar
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 300g short-grain brown rice, washed and soaked for 30 minutes, then drained
- 2 x 400g tins of black beans, drained and rinsed
- 20g fresh coriander, roughly chopped
- 2 tbsp lime juice
- 1 lime, cut into wedges, to serve
- 2 medium avocados, cut into cubes
FOR THE PEPPERS:
- 75ml olive oil
- 2 onions, thinly sliced
- 2 red peppers, trimmed and cut into 1cm thick strips
- 4 cloves of garlic, crushed
- 1½ tbsp tomato purée
- 2 tsp light soft brown sugar
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp chipotle chilli flakes
- 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
Make the peppers first by putting the oil into a medium sauté pan over a medium-high heat. Add the onions and cook for 4 minutes, to soften. Add the peppers and ½ tsp of salt and cook for another 6 minutes, until softened and starting to colour. Turn the heat down to medium-low and stir in the garlic, tomato purée, sugar, oregano, chipotle, vinegar, 2 tbsp of water and plenty of black pepper. Cover with a lid and cook for half an hour, stirring now and then, until soft. Set aside.
Meanwhile, make the rice. Put 4 tbsp of the oil in a large saucepan and place over a medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook for 5 minutes, until softened and starting to colour. Add the garlic, spices and oregano and cook for a minute, until fragrant. Stir through the rice to coat, then add the black beans, 520ml of water, 1¼ tsp of salt and lots of black pepper. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to low and leave to cook, covered for 50 minutes. Remove the lid and set aside for 10 minutes to cool slightly.
Meanwhile, blitz the coriander, lime juice and 2 tbsp of oil in a mini food processor until smooth. Transfer to a bowl and stir in the avocado and ¼ tsp of salt.
Transfer the rice and beans to a large platter and spoon over the peppers and avocado. Serve with the lime wedges.
(Original recipe from Ottolenghi Test Kitchen Extra Good Things by Noor Murad & Yotam Ottolenghi, Ebury Press, 2022.)
We really miss cooking for friends and family which is what we do almost every weekend (and some other nights too!). So instead of prepping for the evening we’ve been making more of an effort at lunch. Last week we had these unusual quesadillas outside in the sunshine, sure beats lunch at the desk!
Jono & Jules do food & wine 