Mexican Inspired Rice and Beans
A vibrant, one-pan Mexican-style dish packed with beans, peppers, and spices. Perfect as a main meal or a hearty side.
Preparation Time:
10-15 minutes
Cooking Time:
30 mins with tinned beans, 60 mins with dried.
Serves:
2
Please note that the cooking time for the soaked beans will vary depending on the type of rice used. The timings given are for wholegrain rice which takes around 25 minutes to cook. That will give the beans an extra 25 minutes too. If using a quicker cooking rice, the cooking time for the beans will need adjusting. No need to worry if using tinned beans.
Equipment
- Sieve
- Sharp cutting knife
- Scales
- Large wooden spoon
- Tin opener
- Teaspoon
- Large non-stick saucepan or frying pan with lid
- Large chopping board
Ingredients
- 200g wholegrain rice (swap in a different rice if preferred)
- 150g dried Black Beans or 1 large tin (400g) of pre-cooked beans.
- 3 tbsp Olive Oil
- 1 large Onion
- 1 Green Pepper
- 1 Red Pepper
- 2 cloves Garlic
- 1 large tin of chopped Tomatoes (or passata)
- 1 tsp Ground Cumin
- 1 tsp Paprika
- ¼ tsp Cayenne Pepper (or to taste)
- 125g Sweet Corn
- 300ml Vegetable Stock or Water
- Salt and black pepper
- 1 vegetable stock cube (if using plain water)
- Fresh coriander
Preparation (stage 1)
Note: Skip this stage if using tinned beans
- Soak the beans for 8–12 hours (overnight) in plenty of cold water.
Cooking (stage 1)
Note: Skip this stage if using tinned beans
- Simmer the beans for 30 minutes, allowing for the fact that they’ll be cooked again later in the dish.
Preparation
- If using tinned beans, simply drain and rinse and set aside.
- Rinse the rice in the sieve until the water runs clear. Drain well and set aside.
- Peel and finely chop the onion.
- Deseed and dice the green and red peppers.
- Peel and crush or finely chop the garlic.
- If you’re using water, stir in the vegetable stock cube.
- Chop the coriander
Cooking (stage 2)
- Add the oil to the pan and bring to a medium heat
- Add the onion, green, and red peppers, and sauté for 3–4 minutes until they begin to soften.
- Sprinkle in the cumin, paprika, and cayenne pepper. Stir well to coat the vegetables and release the aromas.
- Add the tomatoes
- Add the uncooked rice.
- Stir to coat the rice evenly in the tomato and spice mixture.
- Stir in the partially cooked beans, if using tinned beans, leave them out for now.
- Add the sweet corn.
- Pour in the vegetable stock.
- Mix well and bring to a gentle boil.
- Reduce the heat to low, cover the pan, and cook for 25 minutes, or until the rice is tender and the liquid has been absorbed.
- If using tinned beans, add them to the mixture and stir well.
- Taste and season with salt and pepper as required.
- Top with the coriander.
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