Hoppin' Johns

Black beans and brown rice are a staple of mine. A bag of brown rice is under $2. A bag or dried black beans is under $2. Together, they make about 8 generous servings that, with a few extras, can serve as a delicious and healthy meal.

It requires some planning as is always the case with dried beans. I find it is best to soak the black beans at least 12 hours, but 18 is even better.

8 oz Dry Black Beans, Soaked
1 1/2 Cups Brown Rice
Romaine Lettuce (enough for a bed to plate the lettuce)
1/4 Cup Salsa per serving
1/8 Cup Fat-Free Plain Yogurt
Cayenne
Hot Sauce/Tobasco Sauce optional

You can put the beans and rice on at the same time. Completely cover the beans with water and bring to a rolling boil, then reduce to a simmer. Add about 1/2 teaspoon of cayenne to give the beans a touch of additional flavor and heat.

Combine the rice with 3 cups of water, bring to a complete boil, and then reduce to low heat, a very low simmer and cover. The rice will take about 40 minutes to cook, and so will the beans.

After about 40 minutes, put down a bed of romaine. Romaine is really best for this recipe. It is a tall lettuce with rigid leaves that are tightly packed together. The leaves are dark green, with the inner leaves having less color. Some consider romaine the most flavorful lettuce variety. It is usually cheaper to buy a bundle of it, wash and shred it yourself, but you can buy it prewashed and ready as well.

Next, pile on your rice and then put your black beans on top of that. Then your salsa follows (I'll give you a quick and easy salsa recipe in the following weeks, but you can use any canned variety, but I urge you to pay attention to the ingredients and try to find something preservative free). After that, put on your dollop of yogurt. Fat free plain yogurt is a fantastic substitute for fatty sour cream--so good, in fact, no one who hasn't seen me dumping yogurt on their Cubano food hasn't asked, "Is this sour cream?" So, save yourself a heart attack and try yogurt instead.

That's it. Two pots dirty and your plates. This is also a great packed lunch dish since you can make it for dinner the night before and prepare yourself a Hoppin' John for breakfast the next morning and stick in your lunch box.

I had a bit of an eclectic meal the last time I served this, having some spinach with garlic and vinegar and some locally made kim chee to go along with this. The spiciness of the kim chee went well with the spiciness of the Hoppin' John (to which I added quite a bit of hot sauce to in addition to the hot salsa), and then vinegar taste of the spinach (recipe given in a previous post) went well with the kim chee, so in the end it all came together. I hope you enjoy as much as I did!