The hilarious thing about culinary traditions is that they can come from a time when people thought a little differently. Whether that means lard was akin to gold or the more sugar used in jam, the better (because it yields more jam, and you’re going to need as much food as possible to get through the winter), it’s not always in line with current health trends or ways of thinking.
But then every now and then you get a recipe at which you can either laugh or be a little offended. And as a Canadian, you sometimes find yourself stuck between both, feeling really uncomfortable…which is the case with this recipe for “Moors and Christians.” It’s a Cuban dish where the Spanish moors are represented by the black beans and the Christians are represented by the white rice. You cook the beans and rice separately and then stir them together at the end. The colours don’t blend. But I guess mixing them together into something delicious is a happy ending, right?
What I love about the recipe is that the name will never change, no matter how inappropriate it may be. And what I love even more is that most people don’t care. and what I love even more than THAT is that most people don’t understand the name in the first place, so it’s like a private inappropriate yet appropriate joke.
Either way, it’s cheap, it’s easy, and if you don’t have a ham hock or a thick slab of bacon, yes the dish will suffer, but you’ll be healthier for it. How truly modern.
Moros y Cristianos
adapted from Enriqueta Lemoine’s recipe from Qué Mas?
1/2 pound of dry black beans (two cups if using canned)
1 medium white onion
1 green bell pepper
6 sweet peppers (Enriqueta calls for ají dulce or cubanelle pepper, but regular red bell peppers are fine)
1 ham hock (optional. Very optional.)
Preparation of the the beans
1. Soak the beans overnight in 6 cups cold water.
2. In a pot with 10 cups of water, combine the beans, onion, peppers and ham hock. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium to medium-low (depending on the heat in your kitchen and strength of your stove) and simmer, uncovered, for about 2 hours (if you used the ham hock) or until the beans are soft for a vegetarian version (the beans could take anywhere from 45 minutes to 1 1/2 hours depending on how old they are).
3. Drain the beans. Discard vegetables and ham hock bones. You can still eat the peppers if you want, but most of the flavour is in the beans and liquid now, so it’s just fibre. If you want fibre, go for it.
The Rice
2 tablespoons of olive oil
1/4 pound of slab bacon diced (very optional, too!)
1 1/4 cup finely chopped medium onion (about 1 large or 2 mediums)
1 cup of green bell pepper, seeded, deveined, minced (or just 1 green bell pepper)
1 teaspoon of ground cumin
1 teaspoon of dried oregano
1 bay leaf
2 cups of long grain rice (not Basmati, Jasmine or sticky rice. Even medium grain rice works. Short grain in a pinch)
4 cups vegetable broth or water (use broth if you didn’t use the ham hock or bacon, or it’ll be kind of bland. And if you don’t use a low sodium broth, reduce the salt below)
1 tablespoon of white vinegar (or sherry vinegar)
1 tablespoon of dry sherry (drinking or cooking sherry. Not sweet)
1 teaspoon of salt (if you used the ham hock and/or bacon, knock this down to 1/2 tsp)
1. Rinse starch from rice in several changes of water. Drain.
2. Heat the oil in a large pan and add the bacon (though I’d be happy if you didn’t). Cook until browned, about 3 minutes.
3. Add the onion, pepper, cumin, oregano and bay leaf and sauté 5 minutes.
4. Add the rice and stir to coat in oil. Add the reserved black beans and the 4 cups vegetable broth or water (if you didn’t use the bacon or ham hock, use vegetable stock or the dish will be bland). Stir, then add the vinegar, sherry and salt. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and cook, covered, until the liquid has been almost completely absorbed, about 25 minutes. Stir after 15 minutes and if rice has started to stick, add more liquid (vegetable broth or water).
5. Remove from heat and let stand, uncovered, at least 10 minutes before serving.
Photo from La Cocina Casera de Irene.
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