Under Pressure

I promised you all something nice and slow and when I promise, I deliver.

In the spirit of February, which has the honor of being the month to house Valentine’s Day, I am trying to spread the love.  This is why I am featuring Jill Nussinow, The Veggie Queenâ„¢, M.S, R.D., author of The Veggie Queen: Vegetables Get the Royal Treatment cookbook and owner of two sites on veggies and slow cooking:www.theveggiequeen.com or www.pressurecookingonline.com.

Her recipe:

Brazilian Black Beans and Rice

I had a mission for Jill: I needed a vegetarian slow cooker recipe because, frankly, I haven’t found many good vegetarian pressure cooker recipes.  Jill delivered in a big way.

Brazilian Black Beans and Rice

Serves 4-6
10 minutes high pressure; quick release; 8 minutes high; natural pressure release

Jill’s notes: What makes these Brazilian is the lime and orange at the end of the cooking. Usually they use a lot of smoked meat or chorizo but I will be adding smoked paprika instead. You could use chipotle chile powder or put a chipotle chile in when cooking the dish.

You will need:

  • 1 ½ cups black beans, quick soaked or soaked overnight
  • 1 tablespoon oil
  • 1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped onion
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 small hot chile, diced
  • 1 teaspoon or more smoked paprika (pimenton)
  • 2 ¾ cups boiling water or broth
  • 1 large bay leaf
  • 1 cup long grain brown rice
  • 2 tablespoons each lime and orange juice or sour orange juice, if available
  • ½ cup diced canned tomatoes, or fresh if available
  • ½-2 teaspoons salt, to taste
  • hot sauce, to taste

Drain the soaking liquid from the beans and set aside.

Heat the oil in the cooker over medium heat. Add the onion and sauté for 2 minutes. Add the garlic, hot peppers and smoked paprika. Sauté another 2 minutes. Add the boiling water or broth, bay leaf and brown rice and stir well. Turn the heat up to high. Lock the lid in place and bring to high pressure over high heat. Once at high pressure, lower the heat to maintain high pressure for 10 minutes. Quick release the pressure and carefully remove the lid, tilting it away from you. Add the beans and stir again. Put the lid back on, bring back to high pressure and maintain high pressure for 8 more minutes. Remove from the heat and let the pressure come down naturally. Taste and add salt and tomatoes. Add hot sauce, if desired.

© 2004, The Vegetarian Connection, Jill Nussinow, M.S, R.D.
Author of The Veggie Queen: Vegetables Get the Royal Treatment cookbook

Looks pretty good, doesn’t it?  Brazillian food is always very flavorful and usually very hearty.  I think this fits the bill perfectly!  Enjoy!

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