mexican inspired rice

After a girls' trip to Chicago with some great friends (ina, mel & abby!) and having some delicious mexican fare, I was craving more.  This rice dish is inspired by mexican flavours and makes a great filling for my version of a fish burrito/soft taco (next post!).   

what you need:

• 1 cup brown rice
• 1 can black beans
• 1/2 red bell pepper
• 1/2 red onion
• 2 cloves garlic
• 2 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1/2 tsp red chili flakes
• 1 handful of fresh cilantro
• 2 green onions
• canola oil
• 2 cups water
• salt & pepper

what to do:

1. Finely dice onion, red bell pepper and garlic.
2. In a pot, heat up 1 tbsp canola oil on medium.  Add onions and saute until slightly translucent.  Add rice to coat with oil and allow it to toast lightly.  Add bell pepper, garlic, and black beans (drained).  Stir lightly, then add cumin, oregano and chili flakes.  Stir in the water and cover pot with lid.  Turn heat to medium - high until water boils, then turn it down to medium low and allow to simmer for ~ 30 min.
3. In the mean time, slice green onions thinly on a bias and roughly chop up cilantro.
4. Fluff rice with a fork and season to your taste with salt and pepper.  Fold in green onions and cilantro, and save some to garnish on top.  Serve as a side dish and enjoy! Or use it as a filling for a burrito:)

looking at ourselves in the bean, chicago