Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Brazilian Beans and Rice

Several years ago we had a wonderful Brazilian exchange student. From her we learned that just like every family in the USA has their recipe for potato salad, every Brazilian family has their version of Brazilian Beans and Rice. This is a basic meal for the average family, similar to Feijoada, which is a more involved bean dish. This is USA version of Vanessa's recipe

Beans:
several slices of bacon, chopped (you can also use sausage, dried beef or pork)
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 small onion, chopped
1/2 green pepper, chopped
1 can black beans with juice
1 cube or tsp beef bullion
1 small tomato peeled and chopped
brown the bacon, add garlic, onion, and green pepper and saute until tender, add beans and bullion, simmer for several minutes. Add tomato and heat through. Serve over rice.

Rice:
1/2 small onion, miniced
1 clove garlic, minced (optional)
1 tbsp oil or butter
1 c rice
2 c water
saute onion and garlic in oil, until tender. Add rice and lightly brown. Add water, cover, turn heat to low and cook about 20 minutes or until done.