Rice and beans: how to improve your mood and increase your energy potential

Rice with green beans, carrots and shallots Rice can be the basis of many vegetarian or vegan dishes. Rice goes well with almost all vegetables, as well as legumes, mushrooms and even many fruits and nuts. Therefore, cooking rice porridge is not tasty - it’s very difficult! The main thing is to know the secret of preparing fluffy rice: so that each grain is separate from the other. This rice gives the finished dish not only a special taste, but also a very appetizing appearance.

In order for the rice to always turn out crumbly, you need to follow two basic rules: firstly, maintain the proportion of water to rice, and secondly, after covering the rice with a lid, do not stir it until it is completely cooked. So, any amount of rice should always be filled with water half a finger on top. That is, having poured the rice into the pan (pre-rinse the rice under running water), place your index finger on the rice and pour in the water. The water level should be exactly half your finger. Next, carefully stir with a spoon, close the lid and put on “slow” heat. After 4-5 minutes. add salt to taste, simply sprinkling the porridge on top, but not stirring it in any way. And after 12-15 minutes. You can open the lid slightly and check the porridge for readiness. The water should completely boil away and each grain should be separated from the other. That's the whole secret!

Rice in tomato sauce

Properly selected spices give the finished dish a special taste and aroma. In this case, it is ginger and chili pepper.

1. Rinse 1 tbsp. rice You can take absolutely any type of cereal: long-grain rice, round, steamed, even for sushi. The grains should be rinsed well with cold running water and placed in a colander to drain.
2. Place the rice in a deep pan, pour in 2 tbsp. cold water. If the dish is prepared from long grain rice, then 450 ml of water is needed, if from round rice, then 400 ml. Place the pan on the fire and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and simmer for 20 minutes. Brown rice takes twice as long to cook and, accordingly, you need to pour more water - 600 ml per 1 tbsp. cereals
3. While the rice is cooking, you need to peel and finely chop 2 cloves of garlic. Heat 2 tbsp in a frying pan. l. vegetable oil and fry the garlic.
4. Peel and chop a piece of ginger root (to taste), wash and chop the hot pepper. Place them in the pan with the garlic and fry for 1-2 minutes until fragrant.
5. Season the vegetables in a frying pan with 2 tbsp. l. tomato paste. Stir and simmer for 4-5 minutes. The oil and vegetables will take on a “tomato” hue.
6. Place rice in the pan and stir in the dressing. Add ½ tbsp. water, salt and pepper, cook over low heat for 10 minutes. Turn off the heat, cover the pan with a lid and leave for another 10 minutes.

Italian traditions: rice soup with beans and spices

The following recipe for beans and rice will appeal to people who prefer diet food. This Italian delicacy is a fitting main course for chilly fall and winter evenings.

Products used:

• 90 ml chicken or vegetable broth;
• 50 ml olive oil;
• 110 g coarse grain rice;
• 70 g red beans;
• 1 onion;
• 1 celery;
• 2 cloves of garlic;
• 2-3 tomatoes;
• grated parmesan.

Cooking processes:

1. Cook the rice.
2. Chop the garlic, chop the onion, fry with oil.
3. Add celery cubes and tomato slices, fry lightly, gradually add broth.
4. Bring the aromatic mass to a boil, simmer with beans for 8-13 minutes.

Use a blender or food mixer to give the finished cereal a creamy consistency. Serve with beans, vegetables and a fragrant scattering of Italian cheese.

Rice and beans

One of the options for preparing vegetarian (lenten) pilaf is rice in tomato sauce with beans. In this case, beans act as a complete source of vegetable protein and perfectly complement the taste of rice.

1. Rinse 1 tbsp. unpolished rice. Strictly speaking, rice can be anything, but if we talk about preparing a healthy dish, it is better to give preference to unpolished rice. Place the rice in a colander and leave until the water drains.
2. Pour rice into a saucepan, pour 2 tbsp. cold water, put on fire. Bring to a boil, cook over medium heat until tender (about 30 minutes).
3. While the rice is cooking, peel and cut the onion into half rings, wash, peel and grate the carrots.
4. Heat a frying pan, pour 2 tbsp into it. l. vegetable oil. First, put the onion in the pan and fry it until it becomes transparent. Add carrots here and fry for 3-5 minutes. The carrots should become soft and release juice.
5. Add canned beans in tomato sauce to the pan (along with the sauce!), stir, salt and pepper (if necessary, depending on how salty and spicy the tomato sauce from the beans is).
6. Place the rice in a colander, wait for the water to drain, and place it in a frying pan with vegetables. Stir, cover the pan with a lid and simmer for about 5 minutes over low heat, then turn off the heat and leave for another 5-10 minutes.

How to cook dry red beans? Secrets and subtleties

Depending on your preferences and time resources, there are several variations of proper preparation of dry beans. A popular method is as follows:

1. Sorting beans, eliminating dirt and debris.
2. Rinse the beans in a colander under running water.
3. Adding 6-8 cups of boiling water.

Boil the beans for 2-3 minutes. It is advisable to set the beans aside for a couple of hours, then rinse them again with fresh water.

Rice with red sweet onion

Red (purple) onion is juicy, sweetish, and when added to dishes it does not taste bitter, unlike white onions, so it goes well with any side dish, including tomato rice.

1. Rinse 1 tbsp. round rice under running cold water, place in a saucepan. Pour in cold water in a ratio of 1:3, bring to a boil. Reduce heat until water simmers, cover pan and simmer for 10 minutes. Then place in a colander to drain the water.
2. Peel 2 red onions and cut into thin half rings.
3. Heat a frying pan, pour 2 tbsp into it. l. vegetable oil (tasteless and odorless), lightly fry the onion (it will turn greenish).
4. Add rice to the pan, add salt, a pinch of allspice, bay leaf and 2 tbsp. l. not spicy (preferably sweet) thick tomato paste. Mix. Cover the pan with a lid and simmer for 10 minutes over low heat.

Before serving, decorate the rice with finely chopped herbs.

Cooking method

The first step is washing the rice. This operation removes the dust that remains on the grains after grinding, as well as the layer of gluten that causes the welded grains to stick together. Washed rice always turns out fluffy. When the drain becomes clear, pour water over the cereal and leave it to swell while we deal with the rest of the products. At the same time, put 2 glasses of water on heat.

Cut the onion into thin half rings, grate the carrots and celery - you can chop them into long strips, in Korean. Place in a frying pan with vegetable oil and sauté over low heat.

Tomato rice with cheese

Not as low in calories as, for example, with onions or beans, but tomato rice turns out very tasty if you add cheese to the dish. You can - any hard cheese, you can treat yourself, for example, with Parmesan, the dish will only benefit from this.

1. Pour 1 tbsp into the pan. steamed rice and fill it with 1 liter of water. Place the pan on the stove and wait until the water boils. Add salt, reduce heat and cook for 20 minutes.
2. Place the rice in a colander and leave to drain.
3. Heat a frying pan and melt 3 tbsp. l. butter, stir 1 tbsp. l. tomato paste and place rice in the pan.
4. Grate 50 g of cheese on a fine grater, pour it into the rice and stir. Cover the pan with a lid, turn off the heat and leave for 10 minutes to melt the cheese. Serve with finely chopped green onions.

Recipe ingredients:

• 2 tbsp. long grain white rice
• 1 smoked pork knuckle
• 450 gr. dry red beans
• 220 gr. Andouille sausage, cut into 1cm thick slices.
• 3 tbsp. l. extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 3 green onions, thinly sliced ​​(white parts separated from green parts)
• 3 stalks celery, chopped
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 4 fresh bay leaves
• 0.5 tsp. cayenne pepper
• 0.5 tsp. ground sage
• 0.5 tsp. ground thyme
• 1 tsp. apple cider vinegar + extra to taste
• Hot sauce, for serving

Rice in tomato with seasonings

Rice in tomato can be cooked directly in a frying pan without boiling it in a pan.

1. Heat a frying pan, melt 3 tbsp. l. butter (butter can be replaced with vegetable oil).
2. Peel 2 cloves of garlic, squeeze into a frying pan with oil. Add a pinch of paprika. Mix 2 tbsp. l. tomato paste with garlic and paprika.
3. Rinse 1 tbsp. rice, place in a colander to drain. Place the rice in a frying pan and fry for 2-3 minutes, stirring vigorously.
4. Pour 2 tbsp into the pan. water, salt, cover and simmer for about half an hour over medium heat. The water should completely evaporate and the rice should become soft.

Red beans and rice: a hearty combination of textures

The spicy combination of spices cleverly emphasizes the natural palette of aftertastes and aromas. The crumbly cereal harmonizes with beans and a fragrant bouquet of onions and garlic.

Products used:

• 380 ml water;
• 60 ml olive oil;
• 110 g red beans;
• 90 g rice;
• 1 onion;
• 1 bouillon cube (beef);
• 3 cloves of garlic;
• cumin, cilantro.

Cooking process:

1. Heat olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat, fry thin onion rings and minced garlic.
2. Heat the water, dissolve the stock cube and simmer the beans and rice for 18-26 minutes.
3. Season with salt and spices, add garlic dressing to the improvised soup.

Gently mix the ingredients of the dish, drain the remaining water. Garnish the spiced rice with chopped green onion stalks. Serve with fresh vegetables, ripe tomato slices and cucumber rings.

Tomato spicy rice in the oven

You can cook spicy spicy rice with vegetables in the oven.

1. Rinse 150 g of rice and place in a colander to drain.
2. Heat a frying pan, melt 3 tbsp. l. butter. Add rice, add salt and fry (stirring constantly) for about 3 minutes.
3. Preheat the oven to 1800C.
4. Grease a baking dish with vegetable oil and line with parchment paper. Place rice.
5. Wash and scald 3 medium tomatoes, peel and cut into pieces. Wash 2 sweet red peppers and 1 hot one, remove the seeds, cut into pieces.
6. Wash and separate the cauliflower head into florets. Mix the vegetables in a deep bowl, add a pinch of ground black pepper and 3 tbsp. l. spicy tomato paste.
7. Place the vegetables on top of the rice layer and smooth out.
8. Grate 50 g of hard cheese on a coarse grater. Wash and chop a bunch of greens. Sprinkle over vegetables. Place in the oven for 30-35 minutes.

Asian culinary ideas. Green beans in soy sauce

Surprise your guests and family with green beans and rice, prepared in the best traditions of Asian cuisine. The tart piquancy of the flavors is sweetly intertwined with the crispness of the rice texture and the refreshing softness of the beans.

Products used:

• 120 g rice;
• 70 g green beans;
• 45 g butter.

Cook the rice. Melt the butter in a frying pan, fry the beans, season with spices. Add already cooked rice to the vegetable and simmer for 8-12 minutes.

Tomato rice with mushrooms

It is convenient to cook tomato rice in a slow cooker.

1. Mushrooms (white, pre-boiled), cut into pieces. Wash, peel and grate the carrots, peel and cut the onion into half rings.
2. Pour 1/3 tbsp into the multicooker bowl. vegetable oil, add vegetables. Place the multicooker in the “baking” mode for 30 minutes, stir the vegetables periodically.
3. Rinse 1 tbsp. rice with cold water. Place in a colander to drain.
4. Wash a bunch of fresh herbs, trim the stems and finely chop the leaves.
5. Place the rice in the multicooker bowl, add the herbs, salt and pepper, add 2 tbsp. l. tomato paste. Pour in 0.8 liters of boiling water. Close the lid and set the multicooker to “porridge” mode for half an hour.

Adviсe

To make the rice crumbly, you need to follow some rules:

1. Rice should be prepared for cooking in advance. To do this, it is soaked in water for 30-40 minutes. This procedure can be replaced by short frying in a pan (2-3 minutes).
2. The cereal should be cooked in water, the amount of which is 2 times the amount of rice.
3. For cooking, it is better to pour boiling water over the grains.
4. It is not recommended to stir the side dish during cooking.

Promised advice on how to prepare radishes:

• Root vegetables should be washed well, dried in air, cut off the ends, and cut into rings.
• Add a little dill and green onions. Don't add salt!
• Place in ziplock bags, squeeze out air, seal tightly and place in freezer.
• In winter, we simply take it out of the freezer, make a standard filling (vegetable oil, vinegar, salt) or take mayonnaise or sour cream. Add them just before serving. There is no need to completely defrost the radishes - it’s much tastier this way.