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Cuban recipe

How to make Moros y cristianos

Moros

All of Cuba

Commons: Moros y cristianos Cuba
Photo: Xaymacan, CC BY-SA 4.0

White rice and black beans cooked together in one pot with a base of onion, garlic and peppers, seasoned with cumin, oregano and bay leaf. In the east of the island, a similar dish made with red beans is called congrí.

Serves 4 50 min

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 onion, finely chopped
  • 1 green pepper, finely chopped
  • 3 garlic cloves, crushed
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 400 g cooked black beans (1 tin), with 250 ml of their liquid or water
  • 200 g long-grain white rice, rinsed
  • 250 ml water or stock
  • 1 teaspoon salt and a splash of vinegar

Method

  1. Heat the oil in a heavy pan and gently fry the onion and pepper for 8 minutes until soft. Add the garlic, cumin and oregano and cook for 1 minute.
  2. Add the black beans with their liquid, the water or stock, the bay leaf, salt and vinegar, and bring to the boil.
  3. Stir in the rice, turn the heat down to very low and cover with a tight lid.
  4. Cook for about 20 minutes, without lifting the lid, until the rice is tender and the liquid is absorbed.
  5. Leave to rest for 5 minutes, remove the bay leaf, fluff with a fork and serve.
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The name means 'Moors and Christians': the black beans are the Moors and the white rice the Christians, a reference to medieval Spain.

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