Recipe of the Week

Black Bean with Brown Rice


1 cup short-grain brown rice
1 ½ cups dried black beans
2-inch strip Kombu
Course sea salt
2 T extra-virgin olive oil
1 ½ medium red onions, diced
1 ½ medium yellow onions, diced
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 large jalapeno chile, seeded and finely chopped
1 T ground cumin
2 teaspoons dried oregano
2 T balsamic vinegar
Freshly ground black pepper

Combine beans with 6 cups water, cover and refrigerate overnight.

Place rice and 2 ¼ cups water in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil, then cover, reduce heat to low, and cook for 50 minutes.

Drain the beans and combine them with another 6 cups water and kombu in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil. Skim off any foam, reduce heat to low and simmer, partially covered, for 25 minutes.

Meanwhile, warm the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the red and yellow onions and sauté until softened, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic, jalapeno, cumin, oregano, and 1 ½ teaspoons salt and cook, stirring constantly, for 3 minutes. Remove the kombu from the beans, add the onion mixture to the beans, and continue simmering until the beans are tender, about another 30 minutes.

Stir in the vinegar and season with salt and pepper to taste. Stir in the brown rice or serve the beans over the rice on a serving plate.