Recipe - Black Bean Stew

One half cup Brown rice
1 cup Water
2 cup Cooked black beans;
reserving some of the
cooking liquid (a 15oz
can of black beans will
work fine if you have
little time; don't pour
off the liquid or drain
the beans)
1 small Onion; chopped
2 Cloves crushed garlic; or
more to taste
One half teaspoon Cumin
One half teaspoon Oregano
One half teaspoon Basil
One half teaspoon Ginger
1 Bay leaf
One fourth teaspoon Red pepper (optional)
One fourth cup Cheap red wine (optional)
1 Vegetarian sausage link;
crumbled (optional)
Salt and pepper
1 cup Shredded sharp cheddar
cheese

Prepare the rice in the water according to package directions or your own
procedure (white rice is OK, but it makes for a bland and fairly gummy
dish).

While the rice is cooking, combine all the rest of the ingredients except
the cheese in a saucepan and simmer, at least 15 minutes.

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Spoon the cooked rice into a casserole dish.
Remove the bay leaf from the bean mixture; pour the beans over the rice and
stir; it doesn't have to be thoroughly mixed. Top with the cheese and bake
uncovered 2035 minutes or until cheese is browned and bubbly. Let stand
five minutes before serving.

I tell people this serves four, but that's a fairly skimpy serving. It
doubles easily, but you'll need a pretty goodsize casserole. Also, the
wine is optional for those who don't use it, but it really does make a
difference, and since the other flavors are pretty assertive, I'd suggest
using a fairly cheap, strongly flavored wine.

REC.FOOD.RECIPES

From rec.food.cooking archives. Downloaded from Glen's MM Recipe Archive,
http://www.erols.com/hosey.