Brazilian Black Beans and Rice

Authentic Brazilian black beans (Feijoada) are slow-cooked with pork and beef and served over white rice. I've never tried the real deal, but I was so intrigued to learn that the dish is sometimes cooked with oranges, that I had to try my hand at it, with some TIP modifications. This "Faux Feijoada" turned out great, and helped me whittle away at the foolishly large batch of beans I cooked this week. Score!

I couldn't resist topping the beans with a Baja-style condiment I used to love in SoCal: diced raw onion tossed with cilantro. It's bright and fresh against the heartiness of the beans, and not as scarily pungent as it sounds; just make sure your date has some, too. :)

I used a whole pureed orange in this recipe, and the beans turned out a little pulpy. In the future, I might juice the orange instead.

7-Ingredient Brazilian Black Beans and Rice
Total Kitchen Time: 35 minutes. Serves 2.

2/3 cup short grain brown rice
2 cups cooked black beans
1 orange
3 cloves garlic, grated
2 tsp. apple cider vinegar
1/3 cup chopped sweet onion
1/4 cup cilantro

Free Spice Blend
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. chili flakes
1 bay leaf

Set rice to a simmer in a covered saucepan with double the water.

In a separate saucepan, bring beans to a simmer with 1/3 cup water and spices.

Juice or puree orange and add to the bean pot. Simmer uncovered continuously 20 minutes or until liquid has reduced and beans are very soft.

Add vinegar and garlic, stir and remove from heat.

Top generously with onion, cilantro and sea salt. Serve over brown rice.