Congri is a beans and rice dish from Cuba. Some argue that traditional congri can't be made with black beans, but this mixture was good enough that you probably won't care.
Course: Side Dish
Cuisine: Cuban
Keyword: adobo, bay leaves, black beans, chorizo, congri, cumin, garlic, green bell pepper, white rice, yellow onion
Ingredients
1pounddried black beans
2bay leaves
2large green bell peppersdiced
1medium yellow uniondiced
8 to 10clovesgarlicminced
1/4cupextra virgin olive oil
9 to 12ounceschorizo
4cupswhite rice
2tablespoonscumin
2tablespoonsadobo seasoning
saltto taste
Instructions
The day before you cook your beans, rinse them well. Add them to a stock pot and add water until there's about one inch covering them. Bring the pot to a boil, then remove them from heat, place a lid on the pot, and let them sit undisturbed until the next day.
When you're ready to cook the beans, add more water to the pot—again, to about one inch covering them. Add the bay leaves and bring the pot to a boil. Turn the heat to a simmer and place the lid on the pot. (They'll need to cook for 45 to 70 minutes.) Check the beans every 15 minutes or so to make sure there is still plenty of water in the pot. Add more, if necessary.
While the beans cook, heat the olive oil in another large stock pot over medium heat. Saute the peppers and onions until they are cooked through. Add the chorizo, chopping it up as it cooks. When the chorizo is nearly cooked through, add the garlic and uncooked rice. Stir well.
Add in the cumin and adobo, stir well, and then remove the mixture from the heat until the beans are cooked through. (To test the beans, fish one out, let it cool, and try it. You want it to be easy to bite without being complete mush.)
When the beans are done, remove them from the heat. Drain the beans, but reserve six cups of the bean broth (if there isn't enough, add water until you get six cups). Discard the bay leaves. Add the bean broth and beans to the pot with the rice.
Bring the pot to a boil, put the burner on low, and place a lid on the pot. Let the mixture simmer for 20 minutes.
Stir the mixture well. If the mixture is soupy, let it cook a bit longer, with the lid off, to evaporate the liquid to your desired level. Generally, congri is a drier dish, with little to no liquid. Add salt to taste and serve.