Bring a taste of Cuba to your dining table with this easy one pot moros y cristianos recipe (black beans and rice) the island style perfect side dish.
This dish is the ultimate Cuban recipe, in fact you haven’t lived until you have tried some black beans and rice. It’s very straight forward to make, a one pot dish meaning you only need your instant pot and a handful of ingredients to do the work. A pork free dish made with brown rice for extra nutrition and making it vegan friendly.
The origins and what it entails
A wonderful side dish that hails from the island of Cuba and it consists of black beans (usually dried), rice (white), onions, garlic, peppers that form a sofrito, bacon, cumin, oregano, bay leaf, vinegar, black pepper and salt.
Like most Caribbean rice and beans/peas recipe, moros y cristianos is no different in the respect that the water that is used to soak the beans is used for cooking. The bean water gives the rice a nice dark hue which is an essential component to the recipe in question.
Unlike other islands such as Jamaica, Barbados, Antigua and Barbuda etc… where the garlic, onion and so fourth are boiled. In contrast, moros y cristianos see the vegetables to be sauteed first and foremost that makes a lovely foundation called sofrito.
Why make this dish using an instant pot
I admit, I was apprehensive about making a traditional recipe such as Jamaican rice and peas, and Cuban black beans and rice in a contemporary unit such as this one. However, after stumbling upon dozens of people who struggled to get the right ratio of liquid to water when making rice I just had to solve this problem with my instant pot.
For me making rice is second nature, I grow up without measuring and would eye ball measurements. Of course, I appreciate that not everyone has the ability to guestimate ingredients and cooking time so I’m here to alleviate any stress that you maybe facing when trying to make recipe such as this one.
If you follow my instructions and guidelines I promise you shouldn’t face any problems. It’s super straight forward and the instant pot does the vast majority of the work anyway.
Moros y cristianos ingredients
- Brown rice
- Dried black beans
- Water
- Onion
- Garlic
- Yellow bell pepper
- Oregano
- Cumin
- Bay leaf
- Black pepper
- Olive oil
- Pink salt
How to make moros y cristianos
- Rinse the black beans in a colander to rid any debris and remove any broken beans or any impurities (if any).
- After thoroughly rinsing off the black beans pour the 5 cups of water onto the beans, cover and leave to soak overnight or for about 6 hours if you are pushed for time.
- Add the onion, garlic and bell peppers (your sofrito) to the inner pot and select “saute”. Saute until soft and translucent for a few minutes then select “cancel” so the vegetables cook on the residue heat.
- Add the seasoning – oregano, cumin, black pepper, bay leaves and combine with the vegetables.
- Pour in the black beans along with the water (if using canned beans add them now with the extra water to make it 5 cups)
- Pour in the brown rice and stir so everything is evenly combined
- Select “pressure cook” and choose “high” if the option isn’t on default then adjust the +/- to 25 minutes.
- Place the lid on with the valve set to “sealing” it will take several minutes to reach pressure before starting to cook.
- Once the cooking process has finished, leave the unit to do a natural release (should take approximately 15 minutes)
- Add the pink salt according to taste and serve.
Notes and tips
- If using dried beans make sure to rinse them thoroughly. If you are sensitive to the natural occurring sugars in beans then simply rinse and soak for 1-2 hours and change the water. Changing the water still permit enough time for the water to darken and be ready for use.
- Some people add a splash of vinegar to help the sugars break down further. You can do this just before the actual recipe is about to be cooked.
- Use dried beans if possible, they work out to be cheaper and much easier to follow the instructions especially if you aren’t confident in adding excess liquid to bring the canned beans to the equivalent to what dried beans are.
- This is a vegan version of moros y cristianos, if you are not vegan then you would add the pork when the sofrito is being sauted
- Any leftover rice can be refrigerated and eaten the next day. After that, you will want to freeze down the rest of rice in portions.
- DO NOT throw away the bean water whether using canned or dried (other then what is stated)
Serving suggestions
- Meat i.e fish, chicken, beef
- Vegetables (vegan option)
More latin American recipes you may like
Cuban picadillo
Yuca con mojo
Turkey mince
Cuban mojo chicken
Instant pot moros y cristianos
Ingredients
- 2 cups black beans dried (or use 2 cans)
- 3 cups brown rice rinsed
- 5 cups water
- 1 yellow bell pepper sliced and halved
- 1 onion chopped
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tbsp oregano
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 2 bay leaves
- pink salt to taste
- 2 tbsp olive oil coconut milk works too!
Instructions
- Rinse the black beans in a colander to rid any debris and remove any broken beans or any impurities (if any).
- After thoroughly rinsing off the black beans pour the 5 cups of water onto the beans, cover and leave to soak overnight or for about 6 hours if you are pushed for time.
- Add the onion, garlic and bell peppers (your sofrito) to the inner pot and select "saute". Saute until soft and translucent for a few minutes then select "cancel" so the vegetable cook on the residue heat.
- Add the seasoning - oregano, cumin, black pepper, bay leaves and combine with the vegetables.
- Pour in the black beans along with the water (if using canned beans add them now with the extra water to make it 5 cups)
- Pour in the brown rice and stir so everything is evenly combined
- Select "pressure cook" and choose "high" if the option isn't on default then adjust the +/- to 25 minutes.
- Place the lid on with the valve set to "sealing" it will take several minutes to reach pressure before starting to cook.
- Once the cooking process has finished, leave unit to do a natural release (should take approximately 15 minutes)
- Add the pink salt according to taste and serve.
Notes
- If using dried beans make sure to rinse them thoroughly. If you are sensitive to the natural occurring sugars in beans then simply rinse and soak for 1-2 hours and change the water. Changing the water still permit enough time for the water to darken and be ready for use.
- Some people add a splash of vinegar to help the sugars break down further. You can do this just before the actual recipe is about to be cooked.
- Use dried beans if possible, they work out to be cheaper and much easier to follow the instructions especially if you aren't confident in adding excess liquid to bring the canned beans to the equivalent to what dried beans are.
- This is a vegan version of moros y cristianos, if you are not vegan then you would add the pork when the sofrito is being sauted
- Any leftover rice can be refrigerated and eaten the next day. After that, you will want to freeze down the rest of rice in portions.
- DO NOT throw away the bean water whether using canned or dried (other then what is stated)
Nutrition
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