Serves 6
Ingredients
2 ounces olive oil
4 tablespoons, sofrito (recipe follows)
6-ounce can tomato sauce
1 15-ounce can black beans, drained (OR white beans, chickpeas, pink beans, pigeon peas, or corn)
½ medium onion, chopped
2 ounces pimento stuffed olives, rinsed
1 pound brown rice, rinsed
3½ cups boiled water
Salt and pepper to taste
Sofrito – a base of many Puerto Rican meals, blend the following and it can be stored for 1 week in fridge, 3 months in freezer.
1 medium green bell (seeds removed)
1 medium onion (peeled)
1 head of garlic (peeled)
1/2 bunch cilantro leaves
6 ajies dulces (small sweet chile peppers. NOTE: resemble habanero peppers)
Directions
Heat a large pot, caldero, or Dutch oven and add the oil.
Once the oil is hot, add sofrito mixture and sauté for 1 minute. Add tomato sauce and sauté until combined. The sauce in the pot will thicken and be a homogenized mixture.
Add beans, onions, and olives; sauté for 2 minutes. Once combined, add the rice. Sauté the mixture for 3-5 minutes on low to medium heat. Add hot water, and season mixture with salt and pepper (taste to adjust flavor). Cook for 6-8 minutes until there is just a thin layer of bubbling water over the rice. After most of the water has dried up, turn/stir the rice with a large spoon, and drop the heat to a low flame; cover the pot. Cook for 45 minutes to an hour.