• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 large (or 1 medium) yellow onion
• 4 cloves garlic
• 1 green pepper
• 1/4 cup crushed tomatoes
• 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 tsp cumin
• 3/4 tsp thyme
• 1/4 tsp hot red pepper flakes
• 1 tsp salt
• 4 cups chicken stock
• 1 19oz can black beans
• 2 cups long grain white rice

Begin by chopping up the onion into a 1/4 inch dice.

Chop the garlic up into a mince as well.

And continue chopping (that’s it after this, I promise) to bring the green pepper – seeded, of course – into a 1/4 inch dice as well.

In a nice and fairly big pot, heat the oil over medium heat. Cook the onions and garlic together until the onions are slightly translucent. Keep stirring to make sure that they don’t burn and become bitter. When the onions are cooked to this point, add the green peppers and give it a nice stir.

Hot on the heels of adding in the green peppers, add just about everything else. In goes the crushed tomatoes! Down into the mouth of the beast with the red wine vinegar! Stir it up and sprinkle on the spices whilst daintily dropping the bay leaf in. Onions and garlic and cumin, oh my. It smells really delightful at this point. Stir the mixture and let it cook for just a few minutes so that the tomatoes lose that tannic bite.

Drain and rinse the black beans and add these to the pot. Rinse the rice under cold water as well to remove some of the starch, and let it join the party.

A nice stir makes sure that everything is incorporated and the rice is well coated with those savory herbs and spices.

Pour in the chicken stock and bring the uncovered pot up to a boil. As soon as it boils cover the pot, reduce the heat to minimum (or very low), and let it simmer away for the next 20 – 25 minutes until the rice is tender. Fight the compulsion to lift the lid up halfway through and check progress, because that lets out all of the steam that we’ve just worked so hard to create. Patience, my friend. Patience. When the rice is ready, all of the ‘good stuff’ like the peppers and beans will have risen to the top. Give this a nice gentle stir to work them in to the rest so that they speckle through the rice.

Now this is comfort food. Hearty, low fat, po’ man’s rice and beans for the choosy and the beggars alike. And yet, so very good.

I make no apologies for the fact that I will happily eat these leftovers alone for lunch tomorrow.

It’s at this point where you might question why I made a side dish of rice for 8 eaters, but only 4 chicken breasts. Am I crazy? Was there a mistake? No. There was no mistake. That was as deliberate an act as anything.

I LOVE THIS RICE