Cuban Black Bean Stew with Rice

You can link to this recipe if you go to the post just two bumps down called “Dinner in No Time”

I made this up  twice, once to keep and once to give away.
The giveaway batch was made first, and I am sheepishly hoping that the party to whom I gave it is not reading here.  This is because I made a change in the recipe on the second batch…..the one  we kept and the one which tasted best.

I cannot refrain from meddling with recipes.

So, I made the first batch according to Martha’s instruction, including the rice with the beans in the cooking.  When I looked at the finished product and tasted it, I thought it would be greatly improved if the rice were cooked separately.
So, on the second batch, I omitted the rice and the can of vegetable broth, and cooked up a pan of saffron rice in a separate pan, to be served alongside the beans.
More flavorful and less mushy rice…..always preferred!

Then I remembered that I had a smallish (6-7 oz.) chunk of pork leftover from Sunday night’s grilling, and so I chopped that up and tossed it into the beans while they were cooking.  And I must say, this was far superior to the batch of beans I gave away.
Next time you have a bit of grilled pork or beef hanging around the house, this bean dish a great place to put it!

For saffron rice, if you don’t have a recipe you like (and I don’t), just purchase Vigo’s Saffron Yellow Rice, or if this brand isn’t available where you shop, any of the prepared mixes of Spanish Yellow Rice will do.

Jon liked it with a bit of sour cream and chopped up scallions and fresh tomato on top.