Black Beans and Rice

This Cinco de Mayo inspired recipe is a simple combination of two of our favorite recipes;  the black bean recipe from our taco bites, then the perfect brown rice. Black beans and rice is one of my  favorite things in the whole world. I grew up in Florida and was lucky enough to have had superior black beans and rice for most of my life. I have been trying to create a recipe that comes close to my childhood favorite, and this one does, and it’s clean!

This recipe is super simple, and delicious. It’s the perfect vegetarian main course, or an excellent high protein side dish for taco night. You’ll find that using  dried beans (not canned) adds an earthy quality to the beans. It also greatly reduces the sodium and allows you to control the seasoning yourself. Be sure to serve it with a squeeze of lime, it adds such a fresh flavor. For a classic flavor, garnish your beans and rice with some diced onion and tomato. I just think they are delicious with just a simple squeeze of lime. Honestly, you’d never know these are made with brown rice. They flavor from the beans melds so well with the nutty flavor of the brown rice. Tonight, I served my family simple black beans and rice with a side salad. We were all happy and satisfied. I can’t wait for leftovers tomorrow!

Local Ingredient: Black beans purchased at the local farm market.