Mexican Tomato Rice and Beans

We were having friends over for dinner and I needed to find a side dish to go along with my Green Chili Chicken. I found a recipe for rice and beans in one of my favorite cookbooks "Fine Cooking Annual 1". It looked simple to make and I thought it would be the perfect accompaniment for my chicken dish. It was really easy to prepare, had very little clean up, and tasted fantastic! We all loved the rice and beans, I can't believe it took me so long to make this dish.

Mexican Tomato Rice and Beans:

Adapted recipe and photos by For the Love of Cooking.net

Original recipe from Fine Cooking Annual 1

• 1 cup of white rice
• 2 cups of water
• 1 15 oz can of diced tomatoes
• 1-2 tsp olive oil
• 5-6 cloves of garlic, chopped
• 1 jalapeno, seeded and chopped finely
• 1 15 oz can of black beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp oregano
• Sea salt and freshly cracked pepper, to taste
• 1/4 cup of fresh cilantro, chopped finely

Bring the water to boil in a large sauce pan over medium high heat, add the rice, cover with lid and simmer on low for 20 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand, covered, for another 5 minutes.

While the rice steams, set a fine sieve in a large measuring cup and drain the tomatoes. Add enough water to the tomato juice to equal 1 cup. Chop the tomatoes very finely.

Heat the olive oil a large skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and jalapeno to the skillet and sauté for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add the black beans, cumin, chili powder, oregano, sea salt and freshly cracked pepper, to taste. Stir in the tomato juice mixture and bring to a boil. Adjust the heat to maintain a gentle boil and cook, stirring occasionally, until the beans absorb much of the liquid, 5-7 minutes. Add the tomatoes, cilantro and cooked rice then cook, stirring occasionally, until the rice is warm, 1-2 minutes. Serve immediately. Enjoy.

Click here for a printable version of this recipe - For the Love of Cooking.net