OK - my problem was that I never have all the ingredients for one particular recipe, yet, my cupboards are always full of stuff I need to use. Going to the store for this spice or this herb cuts into savings.
So, I read all recipes I could find, the challenge being to come up with a "flexible" recipe that I can adapt and that I know I will like each time.
I think I succeeded! My first version tasted more than good enough, and I can improve further.
Here's what I did.
I had some sausage (pack of pork chipolatas), and managed to find black beans (cooked, in a carton) at Sainsbury's here in London.
I grabbed a non-stick pot like this one:
http://rpimportsllc.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/18-QT.-ALUMINUM-NON-STICK-POT-GRAY.jpgOn low-medium heat, first, I browned the sausages in a little bit of oil, and transferred to a plate.
Then, I threw a chopped onion and 4 chopped garlic cloves into the pot, made it all sweat while stirring with a wooden spoon to get the stuck bits at the bottom of the pot back into the mix.
Turned down to low heat; I added 1 cup of rice, mixed it in to coat each grain really well. stirred for about a minute.
Threw in 400ml (little more than a cup and a half) or veg stock using a cube. Any stock would have done. I also added a can of chopped tomatoes, 2 bay leaves, a dried chilli pepper than I found in the cupboard, salt and pepper. Shook the rest of a bottle of strong tabasco sauce I had in the fridge. Brought the heat up a tiny bit to bring to a boil.
[AT THIS POINT, I SHOULD have added herbs and spices, but unfortunately I am renovating the flat soon-ish so almost all the dried stuff is packed away. I think coriander (aka cilantro), celeri salt or maybe even old bay seasoning would have been good, also paprika, cumin etc. That will be for next time for me but you should experiment]
Set to low heat, covered and waited for the liquid to be almost absorbed. I stirred twice to make sure it wouldn't stick.
I then cut the sausage into pieces, and added that along with two cartons (equivalent to a can) of black beans (rinsed and drained in a colander) to the rice, fluffed it all up with the spoon, covered, set the fire to the lowest possible level, and waited 2 minutes. Then, shut the range, stirred again, and covered for about 5 minutes.
Voila! It was great! Bit of heat, with the dried chilli incl seeds, tabasco and garlic.
And it could be further improved - I could try a different type of beans, definitely need to season more, add herbs, etc. But I will keep doing the following:
- cook my protein separately, if I use any
- coat and heat up the rice in oil and onions, garlic
- cook the rice in broth, and preferably chopped tomatoes as well (with their juice)
- add my (cooked) beans and proteins towards the end only
Other than that it's really flexible, so as long as I have beans, chopped tomatoes (always have a supply of those) and rice I know I can make something decent.