[Sca-cooks] Black beans and rice sides

[Volker Bach]

Philippa Alderton schrieb:
>
> --- Volker Bach <bachv at paganet.de> skrev:
> > I'ver never done beans, but this sounds very
> > interesting... How hot does it get? I had a great
> > day with some chili con carme that still made
> > people sore going out the next day :-)
>
> It really depends on the peppers you use, and how many
> of them you put in. If I have them, I'll use chipotles
> (smoked jalapenos) along with a blend of whatever else
> I can find at the grocery that looks good and fresh,
> and mix them according to years of experience playing
> with hot peppers- generally, start light, perhaps a
> jalapeno or two, and let them cook for a while before
> you taste and add more, because stove heat will bring
> out the capsicum heat to its max- even the sweet
> bananas will nail you when cooked, if you're not used
> to hot peppers. (I'm not one of those who thinks it's
> funny to burn someone's mouth out, although my blends
> tend to start out seeming mild, and will build to an
> intense burn). I'm not really precise or worried about
> heat, because I can tolerate a wide range, as I am in
> the underlying flavor, the roundness, as Paul
> Prudhomme would say, of the peppers and other
> ingredients blended together.

Ah, a true mistress of the Art. Personally, I have
little experience with hot peppers, them not being
native to our region or tradition (i.e. pot luck
with anything you buy). Though this one was based
on a mistranslation. The cookbook said '4 TL
Chilipulver' (4 tsp chili powder). What it *meant
to say* was '4 TL Chilisossenpulver' (4 tsp
instant chili, powdered). You can guess the
effect...

> Beans and rice, most notably Red Beans and Rice, are a
> traditional Southern (US) favorite- po' folks food-
> because beans and rice combine to make complimentary
> proteins, and both are cheap. Beans can be done for
> vegetarians, too, without the meat, but I don't like
> them as well that way- none of the vegetable oils I've
> tried have ever brought the richness of flavor and
> velvety texture of the beans that pork fat does to the
> dish.

That goes for lots of other dishes, too. Animal
fats are irreplaceable for frying and roasting, in
my experience. I'll give this one a try someday,
preferably with a couple US friends I can make
homesick. Or just sick.

> > > Rice-
>
> > I often boil rice in broth, to get the added
> > flavour (and color, in which case I use saffron
> > for authenticity, or curcuma for financial
> > reasons, depending on where it is served). I've
> > only tried this with Asian once, and it worked
> > very well. I also had some interesting results
> > with laurel leaves (tasty), dried dill (good with
> > fish, though I shouldn't have used broth with
> > Jerusalem Spis) and fresh parsley (not much for
> > flavor, but I got a nice shade of pastel mint).
>
> Broth is certainly an option, but I don't feel it goes
> as well with the rice in this combo. Part of the
> pleasure (to me) of the combo is that the color
> contrast (white rice, mahogany beans) and the flavor
> contrast (spicy beans, bland rice)provide more
> interest in the dish. Also, the rice gives your diners
> a bit of a break, if the heat is a little intense for
> them.

True, it would go against the function when you
combine it with a very hot, spicy dish. I know
people boil rice in almond milk, but here in
Germany that's a sweet dish and I can't vouch for
its combinability (is that a word?) with spicy.
Have you tried Bulgur wheat? It sounds like it
might go well with what you have in mind.

> > > Salad-
> > I like the cukes sliced more thickly and
> > quartered, and add either a ready-made 'Italian
> > dressing herb mix' when I'm lazy or a variation on
> > the theme of marjoram, thyme, basil and parsley
> > when I have time. Also, try some white balsamico
> > that you steep said herbs in. I also eat this
> > salad on its own, with black bread and sour cream
> > or curd cheese.
>
> Again, that's a variant that's to the diners taste.
> I've been working selling produce at a roadside stand
> this summer, and we just got in some of the small
> cukes, about 6 inches long. They're very tasty,
> crispy, and tender, compared to the foot long waxed
> ones you get in most US grocery stores at the moment.

Oh, *real* cucumbers. They don't need seasoning. I
didn't know you were that fortunate. (I'm a city
kid. I didn't know what tomatoes or cucumbers
tasted like until my 20th birthday.)

> > And you're never wrong with garlic.
>
> You GOTTA be fairly new to the List ;-) Most folks
> here know I eat garlic as a vegetable. Personally, I
> think it ought to be assigned its own food group ;-)

Guilty as charged :-)

> > Hail and Farewell
> >
> > Giano
>
> Thanks, Giano. If you like garlic, hot peppers, red
> wine, and chicken, I'll be happy to send you
> privately, a recipe I've shared with the List several
> times- Chicken a la Benson. It's one of my own
> devising, and is really pretty good.....

I'd love to try that. If it has garlic in it, it's
got to be good.

Giano