Gallo Pinto

Gallo pinto is the black beans and rice dish ubiquitous throughout Central America. Several years ago, we spent a few days at the Casa Rosa (a bed and breakfast inn) in San Jose, Costa Rica before departing on a cruise. Breakfast everyday included gallo pinto. We asked Arturo, the owner, for the recipe, and his wife jotted it down on the back of an envelope. The recipe doesn’t call for coriander, but that is the spice that is normally used. In place of the beans, you can use precooked canned black beans (Conchita or Goya but not refried whole beans.)

1 bag black beans
1 large onion
1 red pepper, cut in half
4 cloves garlic
2 sprigs cilantro
1 celery stalk
2 tablespoons salt
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
3 cups cooked day old white rice

First Prepare the Beans

Wash the beans and place them in a slow cooker, along with the onion, red pepper, garlic, cilantro, celery, salt and olive oil. Cover with water three quarters of the way. Cook for approximately 5 hours or until the beans are soft. Add additional water throughout the cooking process if necessary to keep a small amount of liquid with the beans. When ready, remove the vegetables and with a little of the liquid from the beans puree in a food processor. Add the puree to the rest of the beans to give them more consistency. This may be done the day before.

Then Prepare the Gallo Pinto

In a saucepan, pour 2 tablespoons of olive oil, two tablespoons of finely diced bacon, 1 tablespoon of finely diced onion, 1 tablespoon of finely minced garlic and sauté for about 2 ½ minutes. Add 1/3 cup of ripe diced tomatoes and sauté for 1 minute. Add 3 cups of cooked day old rice and sauté for about 4 minutes, mixing all the ingredients. Add 1 1/2 cups of drained beans and mix again cooking for about 4 minutes, cooked on medium heat.

Season with ground coriander to taste.