Sure, you can spend a few hours cooking dried beans from scratch and use the leftover simmering liquid to make a batch of Bean Broth Rice.
Or you can simply puree some beans into stock and use that as the cooking liquid for the rice.
It’s a quick workaround but it still leads to a delicious batch of flavored rice, minus the two hour simmer. You’ll be tempted to gobble it up on its own, but if you keep some in the fridge it’ll lead to lightning quick meals that are beyond satisfying (see tacos below!).
Bean Broth Rice
As with most rice recipes, you’ll get best results using some stock that you trust. For this batch we’re using the vegetable stock that we recently made for our Avocado Soup.
It’s a simple process and I highly recommend it if you find yourself frequently buying stock from the store. Homemade stock is cheaper, tastes better, and it freezes well. (Here are more details on making vegetable stock.)
You’ll need two cups of stock for this recipe. Add it to a blender or food processor along with:
2/3 cup black beans (drained and rinsed)
1/2 onion
2 garlic cloves
1 chipotle in adobo
1 tablespoon adobo sauce
1/2 teaspoon cumin
3/4 teaspoon salt
freshly cracked black pepper
Combine well and you’ve got the beginnings of a flavor bomb on your hands.
Using a chipotle along with a tablespoon of the adobo sauce will give it a palpable heat, so if you want a milder version you can cut back on the chipotle or omit it altogether. (Here’s more info on working with chipotles in adobo.)
Saute 1 cup of rice in a dollop of oil until it starts to turn golden brown.
Add the bean broth and stir well. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and then let simmer until most of the liquid is absorbed. Remove from heat and give it a good stir, then cover and let it sit in its own steam for a few minutes.
I typically add 1/2 teaspoon of salt to 1 cup of rice, but found that this version needed a bit more, most likely because of the beans. So the broth already has 3/4 teaspoon of salt in it but definitely take another taste for seasoning at this point.
If all went according to plan you’ve got a fiery batch of Bean Broth Rice on your hands. Yowsa!
This rice will work great in a wide range of dishes, including burritos and enchiladas, but lately I’ve been using it to make some on-the-fly vegetarian tacos that have incredible flavor.
So in the above pic you’ve got Bean Broth Rice, Basic Guacamole, cheese, and a few drops of hot sauce. I typically add the cheese and rice to the tortilla and cook for a couple minutes over medium heat in a dry skillet.
You’ll end up with a piping hot, semi-crispy taco that is beyond delicious and can be made in 5-10 minutes. They’re a great meal to have in your repertoire for those days when you come home starving and don’t want to cook.
Of course, that’s assuming your fridge has a batch of Bean Broth Rice on standby. Time to give it a try!
Buen Provecho.
Puree beans into some stock and you've got the simmering liquid for a delicious batch of Bean Broth Rice. I've been making cheesy guacamole tacos with it all week long!
- 2 cups vegetable broth
- 1 cup white rice
- 2/3 cup black beans (drained and rinsed)
- 1/2 onion
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 chipotle in adobo
- 1 tablespoon adobo sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- freshly cracked black pepper
- oil
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Add 2 cups of stock to a blender or food processor, along with 2/3 cup black beans (drained and rinsed), 1/2 onion, 2 garlic cloves, 1 chipotle in adobo, 1 tablespoon adobo sauce, 1/2 teaspoon cumin, 3/4 teaspoon salt and some freshly cracked black pepper. Combine well.
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Saute 1 cup of rice in a dollop of oil over medium heat. When the rice starts to turn golden brown add the bean broth, stirring well.
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Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to medium-low, letting it simmer until most of the liquid is absorbed, approx. 10-15 minutes.
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Remove from heat and give it a stir. Cover and let it sit in its own steam for a few minutes.
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Take a taste for seasoning, adding more salt if necessary. Serve immediately or store in an airtight container in the fridge.
If using brown rice for this recipe you'll probably need a bit more simmering liquid, in the region of 2 1/2 cups liquid per cup of dried rice.
I really, really liked the flavor of this Bean Broth Rice – especially subtle that kick of chipotle…nice! However, all I had on hand was long grain brown rice. I didn’t think that would really matter, but after 30 minutes all of the liquid was gone and my rice was still crunchy. I will definitely try again using white rice, but just wanted to make sure you didn’t use instant rice…
Hola Sheri, I’m glad this one is a hit for you!
Hmmm I could probably clarify that a little better in the recipe as I am in the habit of always using white rice for Mexican dishes. I mostly use standard long grain white rice, but not instant.
Keep in mind that brown rice typically requires a bit more liquid than white rice. Whereas I always use 2 cups of simmering liquid for 1 cup dried white rice, you’ll probably need 2 1/2 cups simmering liquid for brown rice, and maybe even more for short grain brown rice:
http://www.eatingwell.com/article/67554/how-to-cook-brown-rice-perfectly/
I think if you try it again with more simmering liquid it will work out. Hope that helps a bit, let me know how it goes!
Patrick