When we lived in Colombia, we did a lot of cooking from scratch. When you can get fresh ingredients year-round, there just isn’t a culture of canning or eating canned foods like there is up north.
I loved making beans in our pressure cooker, and made them almost 3x/week. It usually involved soaking them overnight and then cooking them the next day.
It was just one of those things that fit into the rhythm of a simpler life… you pull the clothes off of the clothes line, , mix up your yogurt starter to cook overnight on the water heater, and you put your beans in water. Simple nightly rhythm.
When we moved to the US, I lost the rhythm. I still think that, 6 years in, I’m still learning how to implement simple steps into our crazy work-filled days.
We invested in an Instant Pot last year on Prime day, and it has been a game-changer for us! We use it at least once everyday, and this is one of the simplest recipes that has made it into the rotation.
I’ve made lentils, black beans, garbanzos, pinto beans, navy beans and red beans with this same recipe, so it works no matter what you’re cooking. It took me a while to get the measurements/ timing down, but I have it pretty fool-proof now.
Ingredients:
2 cups of dry beans (usually a 1lb bag)
6 cups of liquid (I use a box of organic chicken broth, which is right around 4 cups, and then add 2 cups of water.)
1 can of diced tomatoes un-drained (you can use 2 small real ones and the liquid content won’t matter much)
2 cloves of garlic (just for flavor)
1 tbsp salt
You can put any other spices you want. When I’m cooking lentils, I usually put in 1 tbsp of cumin, 1 tbsp coriander, 1 tsp turmeric and 1 tsp cayenne
Rice (we’ll talk about measurement later)
Cooking the beans:
Put all the ingredients together except for the rice. I usually put the beans in first so they don’t splash, then the liquid, the tomatoes and garlic, then the spices. I stir it all together and put the lid on.
I’ve tried all different cook times, and I’ve found that cooking the dry beans for 40 minutes works well. (Lentils I only cook for 8.)
Also, make sure the vent on the top is closed.
Once the beans are cooked, they should look like this:
Now, here’s where the magic happens!
Cooking the rice:
I use a slotted spoon to scoop out the beans. I don’t mind if a few get left in the pot, but I try to get out a majority.
Then, I look at the cup measurement marker on the inside of the pot. Usually there are around 3-4 cups of liquid left.
For just the 2 of us, cooking 1 1/2 cups of rice gives us enough for a few meals. I only use 2 cups of liquid for 1 1/2 cups of rice. So I scoop out the liquid until the level is down to 2 cups, and then pour in the 1 1/2 cups of rice.
I then set the timer for 12 minutes.
Again, make sure that the vent is closed.
I pour the extra liquid over the beans.
The rice cooks in all that yummy “juice”, and comes out super flavorful!
We like to eat ours with some avocado and grilled meat of some kind. I forgot to take a picture of it before I started mixing it all together… oops!
And yes, that is a disposable plate…. because there are just days that need to be easier. Lol!
We also save it for breakfast the next morning, and mix it up with a fried egg and hot sauce on top. That’s a typical Colombian breakfast, and even our 14 month old son is used to eating rice, beans and egg for breakfast now!
Let me know… how does this recipe work for you?
colombiatotheworld 