Costa Rican Rice and Beans

It seems most South-of-the-border countries have their own version of Rice and Beans. All that I've tried are delicious. We went to Costa Rica last summer and on our first morning there (notice I said "morning." Yes, for breakfast) we were presented with complimentary rice and beans to go along with our breakfast. We ate it several times during the week. Always served with this:

This is Costa Rica's pride and joy- Their Lizano salsa. It is delicious. We brought home a big bottle.

I've been craving those rice and beans, so I did an Internet search and found several recipes, all very similar. I kind of combined a couple and came up with a pretty good version of what we ate there. It includes this Lizano sauce. You can order it here . Or, the best way I can describe it is a cross between Worcestershire sauce and Heinz 57. I think you could replace it with either or a mixture of both and get a similar taste. This isn't exact science. I think every Costa Rican family makes this by just throwing together the ingredients, coming up with their own version. You can do the same. It makes a tasty side dish with chicken or fish. Or it's a delicious and healthy main dish. Add some avocado slices on the side. Yum!

Costa Rican Rice and Beans

4 cups (or so) cooked white rice (cook 2 cups dry rice to make about 4 cups)

2 lbs. Black beans (you can cook these yourself, or I used 2 cans, drained)

1 large onion, chopped

1 red bell pepper, chopped (I freeze peppers from our garden in the summer and mix them in a bag, so I used yellow, red, and green peppers)

1 bunch cilantro

oil

1 tsp. salt

2 T. Lizano Salsa (or replacement- see above)

A few splashes of Tabasco Sauce or Siracha or crushed red pepper flakes, to taste ( I used Siracha, but I think any of them would work.)

In a large fry pan, heat about 2 T. oil. Add the onion and peppers. Saute til soft, then add beans and a large bunch of cilantro. Stir and heat well. Add salt, salsa and hot sauce to taste. Taste and correct seasonings. Serve over hot rice and top with cilantro.