Mediterranean savor: Bean stew with a marked Portuguese style.

◾  There are several recipes inside Portuguese cuisine of dishes made with a rice stock, so that inspired by that kind of dishes I created this delicious stew.

◾   It is an ideal dish to prepare not only in cold seasons, but also after the feast days, with food of “heavy” digestion; because it is a dish which “perks you up” your stomach  and makes you feel very comfortable.

Preparation:

The evening before, put the beans to soak, to hydrate them.   

The next day:

• Cook the beans with one onion, two bay leaves, one dried chili pepper and sea salt (to taste) in plenty of water. The water from cooking is used as stock for the stew.  

• Cover the bottom of a saucepan, similar to a paella pan with lid, with extra virgin olive oil and put it to heat. Meanwhile, chop an onion and when the oil is hot, sauté the onion over a low heat. Chop the cloves of garlic and add them when the onion is softened. Stir and let make some minutes.    

• Add the spices (basil and oregano; on other occasions, I have used rosemary, thyme and a dash of ground cumin; the use of the spices is always to the taste of the one who prepares the recipe). Stir and let make.      

• Dice the peeled tomatoes and add them together with a dash of sugar (to neutralize the acidity of tomato), stir. Let make everything over a low heat so that the flavors will combine and sauté in their own juice. 

• Add the brown rice, stir and then add the white beans (it doesn´t matter although they aren´t completely cooked because they finish their cooking together with the remaining ingredients, since the brown rice needs cooking almost an hour). The stock we use is the one from cooking the beans.                         

Ingredients (serves 4):

Note: The quantities and ingredients are always to taste of the one who prepares the recipe.

200 g white beans,

2 large  tomatoes ,

2 large onions,

5 large cloves of garlic,

1 coffee cup round-grain brown rice, from Calasparra D.O.  

1 tablespoon dried  basil ,

1 tablespoon dried  oregano ,

1 teaspoon  Muscovado sugar ,

1 dried  chili pepper (optional),

2  bay leaves ,

 extra virgin olive oil            

sea salt (to taste)

Approximate time: 2 hours

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