RICE AND RED BEANS WITH COCONUT MILK, CHILE AND GARLIC

Rice and Red Beans With Coconut Milk, Chile and Garlic image

Here's an incredibly easy one-pot vegan dish you can put together on a weeknight. For extra oomph, add more jalapeños and garlic, and don't forget to season with salt and pepper as you go. Black, or "forbidden", rice was used in the photo, but you can also use brown.

Provided by Mark Bittman

Time 1h

Yield 4 to 6 servings

Number Of Ingredients 11

Ingredients

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 bell pepper, preferably red or yellow, stemmed, seeded and finely chopped
1 fresh or dried chile, like jalapeño or serrano, stemmed, seeded and minced
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 1/2 cups cooked kidney or other red beans
1 1/2 to 2 cups parboiled black rice or long-grain brown or black (shown) rice (see recipe)
1 can coconut milk, about 1 1/2 cups
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves, or 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup chopped parsley or fresh cilantro leaves.

Steps:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Put oil in a large ovenproof pot over medium heat. A minute later, add onion, bell pepper, chile and garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is soft, about 5 minutes. Add beans and enough water to barely cover. Bring to a boil, then turn off heat. Use an immersion blender or a potato masher to semipurée beans in pot (leave at least half unpuréed).
Stir in rice, coconut milk, 1/2 cup water, thyme and a good amount of salt and pepper. (If you don't want a crust to develop, cover pot.) Bake until liquid is absorbed and rice is tender, 20 to 30 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning, then sprinkle with parsley or cilantro and serve.

Nutrition Facts : @context http, Calories 556, UnsaturatedFat 5 grams, Carbohydrate 79 grams, Fat 20 grams, Fiber 13 grams, Protein 17 grams, SaturatedFat 14 grams, Sodium 516 milligrams, Sugar 3 grams