Cooking usually comes in waves – there are days when the chef inside you seems to bubble out and wants to try heavy duty three-course meals. And then there are days when you question the very purpose of dinner, purely out of laziness. And in all honesty, the second situation tends to grip us all more than the first one. So what can you do on such a slothful day, combined with a craving for classic, traditional hearty meal? For starters, you can try our South American classic, red beans with rice recipe! This recipe will be flavorsome, filling and with an instant pot by your side, you won’t have to soak the beans or the rice beforehand at all.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon oil (for the beans)
- 1 tablespoon oil (for the rice)
- 2 ounces Mexican Chorizo, casings removed
- 1 cup yellow onion, chopped
- 1 cup red bell pepper, chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 2 cups tomatoes, chopped
- 2 teaspoons Achiote paste
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt
- 2 1/2 cups unsalted chicken stock
- 1/2 pounds or 1 1/4 cups dried red kidney beans
- 1 cup rice
- 1 cup water (for the rice)
- 2 tablespoons cilantro, finely chopped
Directions
For the Red beans:
1.Take your instant pot and add in the oil. Set the mode to saute on normal heat in order to warm the oil.
2. Next, add chorizo to the oil and cook. Stir it occasionally to make sure it browns and crumbles.
3. At about 4 minutes, and once the chorizo has browned, add in the onions, bell pepper and garlic. Cook and stir until they turn tender.
4. After cooking for about 4 minutes, add in the tomatoes, achiote paste, cumin and salt for seasoning the mixture. Cook and stir occasionally.
5. Once the tomatoes have broken down and everything appears to be in a smooth paste, add in the chicken stock. Stir occasionally and then add the red beans.
6. Close the lid and seal the instant pot. Set the mode to manual and punch in 45 minutes on high pressure mode. After the 45 minute mark, apply a quick release action and carefully remove the lid. If your beans need some extra cooking, don’t panic. You can give in an extra 5 minutes of high pressure.
7. Pour your spicy, saucy red beans in bowls and garnish with cilantro.
For the Rice:
If you are using white rice, then the rice function on most instant pots will serve you best. However, depending on any other kind of rice, the timing will most certainly change.
1. For the rice, first you need to rinse them by running them under cold water. Keep doing so, until the water runs clear.
2. Take your instant pot, add oil to it and add in the rinsed damp rice and 1 pinch of salt.
3. Lock the lid and seal the pot by setting the steam valve to its sealing position. Punch in the rice function. For white and basmati rice, set the timer for 4-8 minutes, for brown rice, set the timer for 22-24 minutes and for white rice, set the timer for a good 25-30 minutes.
4. Once the instant pot beeps, release the pressure naturally for 10 minutes. If any pressure remains, release it with the quick release action.
5. Fluff the rice and serve alongside your red beans dish.
Just be sure to cook the rice first and then the beans. Otherwise your rice may end up tasting all funny. Let us know how you cook your Colombian red beans.
