tangy rice & beans

hello hello,

here's another quick, easy, cheap and hearty dish that i made for dinner tonight. i love making dishes that are simple and allow the ingredients to shine. you can also easily substitute other veggis that you have on hand, or add another protein (chicken, shredded beef, etc). this recipe is full of bright flavors and a bit of tang that you don't find in most rice and beans recipes. the key to the tanginess is the vinegar. here is my version of tommy's rice and beans:

ingredients:

1 tbsp olive oil

1 cup of cooked rice

1 small onion, finely diced

1 tbsp minced garlic (or homemade garlic-ginger paste)

1 medium red bell pepper, diced

1-2 cans of black beans

1/4 cup white vinegar (or fresh squeezed lime juice).

1-2 tsps hot pepper sauce (i use sambal chili paste or sriracha)

a handful of roughly chopped cilantro

salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

method

In a large sauté pan, heat the oil over medium-high heat until hot but not smoking. Add the onion, and sauté, stirring occasionally, until transparent, 5 to 7 minutes. Add the garlic and bell pepper, and sauté, stirring occasionally, for an additional 2 minutes.

Add the black beans and vinegar. Bring the mixture to a boil; reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer 5 minutes.

Add the cilantro and rice; mix well. Season to taste with the salt and black pepper. Serve accompanied by additional hot pepper sauce. If you want to kick it up a notch, shreeded monterey jack cheese would be good ontop of it.