Haiti Rice and Beans

Aaron has been making “Haiti Rice & Beans” (that’s our official name for this dish!) for over a decade now. It started as a way to help our new children, who were born in Haiti, feel welcomed in our home. We wanted to be able to create something that would help them remember their home country, and every time Aaron and I had visited them while they lived in Haiti, we had devoured this dish.
As you can see in the video, there are a lot of steps to this simple dish, but once you get the feel for it you will move seamlessly through this recipe as if you had been cooking all along! 

Enjoy!

INGREDIENTS:
1.5 cups washed/rinsed dry kidney beans
1 can unsweetened coconut milk
1 parsley bunch
5 garlic cloves
2 green onion stalks, chopped, separating green ends from the white ends
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
3 cubes of chicken bouillon cube (substitute veggie for vegan recipe)
3 cups long-grain white rice (washed/rinsed)
Salt

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Take parsley bunch and tie it together with a string, so that the bunch can be thrown into the pot. This flavors the water as the beans and rice cook but will be removed later. 
2. Add dry beans to a soup that has a tight fighting lid. Cover beans with at least 2” of water, then bring to a boil. Continue boiling for 45 minutes (or until beans are almost soft)
3. When beans are almost tender, add coconut milk and parsley and continue boiling until beans are tender.
4. Using a strainer and a bowl, strain all the ingredients, reserving the beans and all the liquid. You should have beans and parsley in the strainer, and all your yummy liquid in the bowl.
5. Using a mortar and pestle, crush the garlic and white ends of the green onion until it almost looks like a paste. (If you don’t have a mortar and pestle, you can use the back of a knife or large spoon)
6. In the soup pot (which should now be empty), bring the heat back to medium-high. Add oil. When the oil is hot, add the garlic and onion mixture and cook until slightly browned. (1-2 minutes).
7. Add beans and parsley back to the pot and stir once.
8. Add 2 big pinches of salt and bouillon cubes.
9. Measure your water and coconut mixture. You need exactly 7.5 cups of liquid, so you may need to add water to your mixture to bring it up to 7.5 cups.
10. Add 7.5 cup mixture of water and coconut milk to your soup pot.
11. Turn to high heat, cover with a lid, and bring to a boil. Without taking the lid off, listen carefully to determine when water is boiling. When it sounds like your liquid is boiling, remove the lid and add rice.
12. Remove parsley and dispose of it.
13. WIth lid still removed, continue stirring every few minutes while the water boils and your liquid evaporates. You’ll see the water slowly disappear and the rice will get fluffy. (This will take around 15 minutes)
14. When most of the water seems gone, stir one last time, return the lid, and turn the heat too low.
15. Leave untouched for 20 minutes.
16. Turn off your heat, but leave the lid on for another 5 minutes.
17. Now your Haitian rice and beans should be done! If you open the lead and there’s still too much water, you can return the lid, turn your heat back on low, and check again in a few minutes.
18. Salt to taste and serve!