Recipe - Black Beans With Saffron Rice (Vegetarian)

2 cup Black beans
4 cup Water
1 Onion; halved
3 Bay leaves
6 Garlic cloves; whole
2 cup Rice
1/3 teaspoon Saffron

GARNISH
6 Tomatoes; seeded and chopped
2 cup Onions; chopped
6 tablespoon Olive oil
2 tablespoon Wine vinegar
1 teaspoon Ground cumin
One fourth teaspoon Cayenne pepper
4 tablespoon Fresh basil; or parsley
Black pepper

* Use Vidalia onions for the garnish if available. If not, use other sweet
onions such as Maui, Walla Walla, Texas 1015, or Imperial Sweet.

1. Rinse and sort the beans. Put into a large, heavy pot with lid. Cover
with the 4 cups water. Bring to a boil, cover, and remove from heat. Let
stand for 2 hours.

2. Add the halved onions, bay leaves and garlic to beans. Place over low
heat and cook, covered, until beans are tender; about 1One half to 2 hours.
Check water and add more if needed while cooking . 3. Remove and discard
the onion, bay leaves and garlic cloves. Keep beans warm.

4. Prepare the garnish about 1 hour before serving. Place the tomatoes and
onion into a serving bowl. Add the olive oil, vinegar, cumin, cayenne,
parsley or basil and black pepper to taste. Toss to blend.

5. Bring 4 cups water to boiling in a heavy saucepan with tight fitting
lid. Add the rice and saffron threads (do not use too much saffron). Stir
well, cover, reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes or until the rice has
absorbed all the water.

6. To serve, place the rice, black beans, and the garnish into separate
bowls. Guests can serve themselves by placing a serving of rice, topping
with the beans and lastly with the garnish on their plates.

* Cut this recipe in half if you wish. It is really best not to double this
as cooking times will vary depending on the size and thickness of cookware
used.

Serving Ideas : Serve with avocado salad or other green salad.

NOTES : This is a traditional LatinAmerican dish.

Recipe by: Jo Anne Merrill

Posted to MCRecipe Digest V1 #991 by "M. Hicks" nitro_ii@email.msn.com
on Jan 7, 1998