Gallo Pinto (pronounced guy-o pinto) is Costa Rica’s most well-known comfort food. No one who's ever visited Costa Rica is likely to forget gallo pinto, and those who haven't visited rarely understand how people can be so enamored of rice and beans. It’s a staple and is served for breakfast, lunch and dinner! Ticos look at you like you're a little crazy if you ask how to make it; sort of like if you asked a Brit how to make a cup of tea. Everyone knows you just cook the beans, cook the rice, and then cook them together! It's almost that simple, but we finally found a recipe from a local in Heredia.
Ingredients 1 lb black beans (fresh are best but dried works fine) 8-10 sprigs cilantro; fresh or frozen, not dried 1 medium+ onion ½ small red or yellow sweet pepper (optional) 3 cups chicken broth or water 2 cups white rice ½ teaspoon salt 1 tablespoon vegetable oil 1-3 tablespoons oil to fry the Gallo Pinto
Directions If beans are dried, cover with water and soak overnight, if they are fresh, just rise them off. Drain the beans and add fresh water to an inch above the top of the beans, salt, and bring to a boil. Cover the pan and reduce heat to very low simmer until beans are soft (~3 hours). Chop cilantro, onion, and sweet pepper very fine. Add 1 tablespoon oil to a large pan and sauté the dry rice for 2 minutes over medium high flame then add half of the chopped onion, sweet pepper and cilantro and sauté another 2 minutes. Add water or chicken broth, bring to a boil, cover and reduce heat to simmer until rice is tender (20-35 minutes). (This is also the recipe for ‘Tico Rice’ used in other favorites like tamales.) Once the rice and beans are cooked you can refrigerate or freeze them. Keep a significant amount of the “black water” with the beans (½-1 cup). This is what gives the rice its color and some of its flavor. Sauté the rice, beans reserved chopped onion, sweet pepper and cilantro together in vegetable oil for a few minutes. Sprinkle with a little fresh chopped cilantro (or green onion) just before serving. Once the rice and beans are cooked you can also refrigerate or freeze them. Make up small batches of Gallo Pinto when you want it by simply sautéing them together. In the Guanacaste region they sometimes use small very hot red peppers instead of, or in addition to, the sweet. Some people add a tablespoon or so of Salsa Lizano or Chilera to the beans while they're cooking. Hints: Definitely try to find some Salsa Lizano (hmmm hmmmm good!) to serve with this dish; add sour cream, red pepper flakes and even bacon if you aren't going vegetarian.
Gallo Pinto (pronounced guy-o pinto) is Costa Rica’s most well-known comfort food. No one who's ever visited Costa Rica is likely to forget gallo pinto, and those who haven't visited rarely understand how people can be so enamored of rice and beans. It’s a staple and is served for breakfast, lunch and dinner! Ticos look at you like you're a little crazy if you ask how to make it; sort of like if you asked a Brit how to make a cup of tea. Everyone knows you just cook the beans, cook the rice, and then cook them together! It's almost that simple, but we finally found a recipe from a local in Heredia.
