Costa Rican recipe
How to make Gallo pinto
All of Costa Rica, the national dish
Rice and black beans fried together with onion, sweet pepper and coriander (cilantro), often seasoned with Salsa Lizano. It is served at breakfast with eggs, fried plantain, tortillas, cheese or sour cream. At home it is usually made with the rice and beans left over from the day before.
Ingredients
- 500 g cooked white rice, cold, ideally cooked the day before
- 400 g cooked black beans (1 tin), drained, with 4 tablespoons of their liquid kept
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 small onion, finely chopped
- Half a red sweet pepper, finely chopped
- 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
- 2 to 3 tablespoons Salsa Lizano (or 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce)
- A small handful of fresh coriander (cilantro), chopped
- Salt to taste
Method
- Heat the oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat. Fry the onion, sweet pepper and garlic for about 5 minutes, until soft.
- Add the beans and their liquid and cook for 3 to 4 minutes, until the liquid has mostly gone and the beans are glossy.
- Add the cold rice and gently fold it into the beans until it turns evenly speckled, about 5 minutes. Do not mash it.
- Stir in the Salsa Lizano and coriander, taste and add salt if needed.
- Serve hot with fried or scrambled eggs, fried plantain and a spoonful of sour cream. If you keep cooked rice for the next day, cool it quickly and store it in the fridge.
Made it at home? Tick it off and it goes into your kitchen passport.
The name means 'spotted rooster', from the speckled look of the rice and beans. Costa Rica and Nicaragua both claim the dish, and in 2003 they began to compete over who could cook the biggest pot of it.
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