Green Rice with Stewed Red Beans

After a few weeks of eating rich heavy foods and buckets of cookies, I was personally feeling a bit over saturated. Whenever this happens I get quite grumpy and struggle to find foods something I enjoy. While some of this is rooted in old, disordered eating patterns, it is also my body begging me for something easy to digest yet nutrient rich. For me this usually takes the form of rice and beans, because honestly I cannot think of a better meal. After much searching and many dissatisfied groans, I settled on a stewed red beans with spinach rice.

In this recipe I draw on inspiration primarily from Indian, Creole, and Caribbean cuisines. This recipe is not, however, a traditional representation of any of these culture’s food ways. I encourage you to do some research into their traditional food ways to understand the cultural relevance. There are humans on Instagram who are doing really amazing things, check them out if you’re interested (@cafemamajuanavt, @indianvegan_experiment, @supriyaramankitchen and the blog Nish Kitchen).

I wanted to incorporate a lot of greenery and flavor in this to provide a delicious and nutritious meal. Spinach is balanced with the creamy coconut milk and bright cilantro and finished off with a hint of lemon and lime. These flavors pair wonderfully with hearty smoky beans. The recipe here makes around 6 servings so it is a nice family mean or meal prep for two!

Ingredients

Spinach Rice

• 1 lb fresh spinach
• 1 medium yellow onion
• 4 garlic cloves
• 1 ½ cups cilantro
• Juice of 1 lemon
• Juice of ½ lime
• 2 tsp. salt
• ½ tsp garam masala
• 1 ½ tsp. dried coriander
• Pepper to taste
• 13 oz can of coconut milk
• 2 ¼ cups brown basmati rice
• 5 cups water

Stewed Red Beans

• 1 ½ cups dry red beans
• 6 cups  water
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 13 oz can fire roasted tomatoes
• 1 tsp. smoked paprika
• Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Soak your beans at least 8 hourse ahead of cooking by combining with 3 ½ cups water, 1 tsp. baking powder and a healthy pinch of salt.
2. Soak rice 30 minutes before cooking and then rinse thorough until water runs clear.
3. Meanwhile drain beans and rinse with cold water. Add in 2 cups of water and return to a boil with a tsp. of salt. Boil until soft, about 15 minutes.
4. Drain beans. Add in tomatoes, paprika, and ½ cup water return to a simmer and cook until it begins to thicken up. I find it helpful to mash some of the bean to give it a more stew like texture.
5. Place rice in a large pot and salt well, bring to a boil for 5 minutes. Reduce heat and simmer covered for 20 minutes until all the water is absorbed. Stir occasionally.
6. At the same time, heat 1 tbsp. of oil over medium heat. Add in onions and saute unit translucent, add in the garlic cloves and cook until fragrant. Wilt ¼ of the spinach in the pan and then add all remaining ingredients into the bowl of a food processor. Puree until smooth.
7. Add the spinach mixture to the cooked rice and stir until combined. Adjust flavor as needed.
8. Serve beans on top of rice and garnish with a bit of cilantro.

Enjoy!