Moros y Cristianos (Cuban Style Black Beans & Rice)

This dish is always a big hit at parties. The combination of black beans, rice and ground beef is such a sinful, yet healthy, combination. This dish is a staple in Cuba and it's extremely popular in Florida—especially in Miami.

My sister-in-law found this recipe in a Recipezaar and in order to make the dish slightly less healthy, she used ground beef instead of the crumbled turkey sausage that the original recipe calls for. And if you want to make it even more flavorful, try using bulk Italian sausage. In my opinion, Mona Lisa deli has the best bulk sausage in San Diego. Buen provecho!

INGREDIENTS (10 servings)

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped (you want 1 cup of chopped onions)
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• ½ cup tomato sauce
• 1 (15 3/4 ounce) can chicken broth
• 2 (15 ounce) cans black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 ½ to 2 lb. cooked crumbled ground beef or bulk Italian sausage
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• ½ teaspoon fresh ground pepper
• 1 cup diced green bell peppers
• 1 bay leaf
• 4 cups cooked white rice
• Cilantro, for garnish
• parmesan cheese (optional)

DIRECTIONS

Heat oil in pan and sauté onion and garlic for 2 minutes.

Add tomato sauce and broth and bring to boil.

Add next seven ingredients (beans through bay leaf) and bring to boil.

Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Discard bay leaf before serving; place the cooked white rice in a large serving bowl or platter and top serve the bean-sausage mixture over rice; gently toss to combine and sprinkle parmesan cheese, if desired, and add cilantro for garnish.