Beans and rice, this is a staple food here too
and your recipe really looks delicious. With your permission MsHomesmoke, I want to give a Turkish style beans and rice recipe. There may be people interested in different tastes.
A) Bean and lamb (you may use different meats but this is my favorite)
Ingredients (serves 4):
- 400 grams (14 oz) pinto beans (you may use different beans)
- 250 grams (9 oz) lamb (or other meat) chopped into small chunks
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 2 large onions
- 2/3 large fresh tomatoes, or a tin of chopped tomatoes, or 2 tablespoons tomato puree
- 1 litre (34 fl oz / 0.26 gal) lamb stock (or other stock)
- 1 sweet pepper, cut into medium sized chunks
- Salt and black pepper
Preparation:
- Soak the beans overnight (minimum 12 hours), then rinse them well, drain and boil for about 30 minutes until they are just starting to become tender. Drain and put to one side.
- Dice the onions, and cook in the butter until golden. Add the meat to the pan and brown it lightly. Allow any juices to evaporate. Add the peeled and chopped tomatoes, the chopped peppers, and approx 1-2 teaspoons of salt.
- Cover and cook on a low heat for about 30-45 (according to your meat) minutes.
- Add the beans and the stock, cover and let the stew simmer until the beans are nice and tender.
And serve it with "pilav" (rice)
B) Here's the "pilav" (rice) recipe,
Ingredients (serves 4):
- 3 glasses of rice (Baldo rice is the typical rice for cooking Turkish rice, we don't use Jasmine or other rices)
- 3 tablespoons butter (real butter
)
- 3 glasses of water or stock (use the same size of glass used for the rice, chicken stock works well)
- Salt and black pepper
Preparation:
- Rinse the rice in a sieve under cold water. Place the rice in a bowl and cover with hot salted water. Let this stand until cool. Wash again thoroughly in cold water (the water should run clear) and drain well.
- Melt the butter in a saucepan until it just starts to sizzle, before it turns brown. Add the rice and sauté for 2-3 minutes stirring continuously.
- Pour the stock or water into the pan, bring to the boil, then turn down to simmer on a low heat. Don’t stir the pilav whilst cooking! Cook until the rice has absorbed all the water (10-15 minutes). Add salt and pepper to taste.
- Take the pan off the heat, and remove the lid. Place a clean kitchen towel over the pot, and then replace the lid. Leave to “brew” for 5-10 minutes. Then serve.
If you like your rice extra fluffed, you can use a wooden spoon or fork to stir it up a little before serving.
Bon appetit