Moros y Cristianos

 Moros y Cristiano is a traditional Cuban rice & black bean dish. The name is used interchangeably with Congri. Congri is a red beans & rice dish that originated in Oriente Cuba. It’s called Congri Oriente. Both dishes are delicious. I have a recipe for it in my Blog under Congri Oriente (Oriental Congri).

Ingredients:

2 cups of rice

1 /2 bag black beans or red beans

3 tsp vegetable oil

1-2 bay leaves

olive oil

1 /2 medium bell pepper diced

1 /2 med red pepper (diced )

1 large onions

3-4 garlic cloves

1 tsp oregano, dried

1/2 tsp cumin

1 tbsp Sazon completa (Badia) or Sazonador (Goya)

1 tsp salt

1 tsp ground black pepper or to taste

ham, pork bones or Spanish chorizo sausage

1. Add beans to a pressure cooker 1 bay leaf, pork bones, ham or chorizo. Cook for 1 & 1/2 hours in a regular pot or 40 min in pressure cooker

2. When tender drain beans put beans in a bowl & save the broth. Set aside.

CONGRI INGREDIENTS:

1. In the another pot cook your Sofrito: add 2 tbsp of oil to sauté 1 med onion diced , 1 red pepper & 1 green pepper & 4 cloves of garlic. Add 1 tsp oregano, 1/2 tsp cumin, 1 bayleaf, 1 tbsp Sazon completa, salt & pepper to taste. Add a piece of pork bone, ham or chorizo sausage diced for flavor. Add rice, stir fry for 3 minutes to coat rice.

2. Add beans & 2-3 cups beans stock

3. bring to boil and cook on slow heat for about 25 minutes or until liquid is almost absorbed by the rice. Lower the flame, cover the pot with foil or a lid to seal in the steam. If rice is still hard add 1/4 c of bean broth