Authentic Gallo pinto Recipe Costa Rica, Central America

As a dish invented to salvage the leftovers from the day before — namely, black beans and rice — gallo pinto barely needs a recipe, if you ask the Costa Ricans. If you decide to make it from scratch, note that the first step is soaking the dried beans overnight: this will soften their skin and shorten the cooking time. The beans are then cooked on medium heat for about three hours or until tender, and a small amount of water they were cooked in needs to be set aside. Next step is to fry the rice in some vegetable oil, and sauté it with some finely chopped onions and bell peppers: some recipes even suggest adding minced ham or sausage to this mixture. The rice and vegetables are then cooked in chicken broth or water until they become tender. Finally, some of the water the beans were cooked in is added to give the dish its specific color, and all the ingredients are sautéed once again. If pre-cooked beans and rice are used, it is enough to sauté them with ... Read more