Arroz Congri Food

CUBAN-STYLE ARROZ CONGRí

Steps:

• Rinse the beans and pick them over for any small stones. Put the beans and 8 cups water in a medium-size pot. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a low simmer, partly cover and cook until tender, about 1 to 2 hours. (Time will vary depending on the bean.)
• Meanwhile, make the sofrito: Put the oil in a medium-size pot (large enough to hold the rice as well) over medium heat. When it's hot, add the onion, green pepper and garlic. Add a pinch of salt and several grinds of pepper. Sauté until the vegetables are limp. Stir in the oregano, dill and bay leaves and remove from heat.
• Drain the beans, reserving the broth and being careful to not break the beans. In a large measuring cup, add the vinegar and wine, 1 cup of the reserved bean broth and enough water for all the liquid to measure 2 1/4 cups.
• Put the sofrito back on medium heat, add the rice and stir to combine. Cook the rice for 1 to 2 minutes, then add the seasoned bean broth/water mixture and the salt. Bring to a boil, stir, then reduce to a simmer, cover and cook for 17 minutes. Remove from heat, fluff with a fork and return cover to pot for 10 minutes.
• Remove bay leaves and put rice mixture into a mixing bowl. Gently mix in the beans, being careful not to break them. Season well with salt and pepper and transfer to a serving bowl. Serve hot.

ARROZ CON POLLO

Steps:

• Combine the salt, garlic powder, cumin, black pepper and cayenne in a plastic gallon bag. Shake until the mixture is well combined.
• Pat the chicken dry and place in the bag with the spice mixture. Shake the bag, making sure the chicken is well coated.
• Heat the oil in a 12-inch high-sided skillet over high heat until hot but not smoking. Add the chicken and brown on all sides, about 6 minutes each side. Transfer the chicken to a plate, using tongs.
• Add the onions, green peppers, red peppers and 1/2 teaspoon salt to the skillet. Cook the vegetables over moderate heat, stirring, until softened and fragrant, about 7 minutes. Add the rice and garlic and cook until the rice begins to turn gold in color and fragrant, about 1 minute.
• Meanwhile, combine the stock, tomato sauce and remaining teaspoon salt in a medium bowl. Add 1 1/4 cups water and the stock mixture to the skillet and stir to make sure the rice is covered in liquid. Nestle the chicken in the rice, adding any juices from the plate. Bring the rice to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cover. Cook until the chicken is cooked through, the rice is tender and most of the liquid is absorbed, about 35 minutes. Let the skillet stand covered, about 10 minutes before serving.

CUBAN-STYLE CRISTIANOS Y MOROS (CONGRI)

Steps:

• Soak the beans for at least 4 hours.
• In a large stock pot add the drained beans, the onion, 4 garlic cloves, bay leaves, 1/2 bell pepper, cumin and oregano. Bring to a boil and skim off foam.
• Reduce the heat, cover and gently simmer, stirring occasionally, for one hour or until beans are tender. Add water to keep the beans from drying out. Remove the onion, garlic, bay leaves, and bell pepper and discard.
• SOFRITO: Brown the bacon in a frying pan over medium heat. Drain the bacon. Pour off the fat from the pan except for 1 teaspoon.
• Add olive oil and remaining sofrito ingredients, cooking over medium heat until just beginning to brown, about 3 minutes. Stir the sofrito into the beans, along with the SEASONINGS. Continue simmmering until beans are very soft, about 20 minutes. Adjust seasonings to taste before serving. Serve with hot cooked white rice.

EASY CONGRI

Steps:

• Cook bacon, ham, onions, green peppers and garlic in large skillet on medium-high heat until bacon is crisp.
• Add beans with their liquid, the rice, oregano and black pepper; stir. Bring to boil.
• Reduce heat to medium-low; simmer 5 min., stirring occasionally.

CONGRI (CUBAN BLACK BEANS & RICE)

Steps:

• Put the beans and bay leaf in a 4-quart saucepan and cover with 2 quarts of water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce to a simmer. Simmer, adding more water if necessary to keep the beans covered by 1 inch, until just tender with a little bite, about 1 hour. Season with 1-1/2 Tbs. salt.
• Put the bacon and oil in a 6- to 8-quart pot. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until slightly crispy, about 7 minutes. Add the onion, pepper, garlic, oregano, cumin, and 1-1/2 Tbs. salt and cook, stirring, until softened, about 10 minutes. Turn the heat up to high, add the wine, and cook until reduced by half, about 2 minutes. Add the rice and cook, stirring to coat, for about 1 minute. Add the beans and their liquid, stir well, and add enough water to cover the beans and rice by about 3/4 inch.
• Bring to a rolling boil over medium-high heat, cover, and turn down the heat to maintain a gentle simmer. Cook until the water is absorbed and the rice and beans are both tender throughout, about 17 minutes. (Do not stir the rice and beans while cooking; it can make the rice clumpy.) Season to taste with salt. Just before serving, fluff the rice, stir in the cilantro, and drizzle with a little olive oil.

ARROZ CON POLLO

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Heat vegetable oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat; cook and stir chicken pieces until browned, 5 to 10 minutes. Remove chicken with a slotted spoon and place on a plate. Cook and stir onion, green bell pepper, minced garlic, and whole garlic cloves in the same Dutch oven until onion is softened, about 5 minutes.
• Return chicken to the onion mixture. Add tomatoes, rice, salt, oregano, black pepper, and bay leaf. Pour in enough chicken stock to cover all the ingredients.
• Bake chicken-rice mixture in the preheated oven until rice is tender and chicken is no longer pink in the center and the juices run clear, about 1 hour and 30 minutes. An instant-read thermometer inserted near the bone should read 165 degrees F (74 degrees C).
• Stir peas, olives, raisins, and pimento peppers into the chicken-rice mixture. Bake until warmed through, an additional 15 minutes.

ARROZ CONGRI (CUBAN RICE AND BLACK BEANS)

Steps:

• In a heavy medium sized pot, heat oil on medium heat.
• Add onions, peppers and garlic and saute until soft, about 4-5 minutes.
• Add rice, beans, water, cumin, bay leaf, oregano and salt and pepper. Simmer on medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until the rice absorbs most of the water and just barely skims the top of the rice.
• Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer 20 minute (don't peek).
• Make sure you have a good seal on your cover, the steam cooks the rice. After 20 minutes, shut flame off and let it sit, covered another 5 minutes (don't open the lid).

MOROS Y CRISTIANOS

Steps:

• Soak the beans for 24 hours in a very large quantity of cold water.
• Rinse thoroughly.
• Add the beans and 5 cups (1,25 l) of water in a large pot. Cook covered on low-medium heat for 1h30. The beans should be tender but not crushed.
• Add salt 10 minutes before the end of cooking.
• Drain the beans and set aside 2 cups (500 ml) of their cooking water.
• In a deep Dutch oven, heat the olive oil and fry the onion, garlic and bell peppers for 1 minute.
• Add the cumin, oregano, black pepper and bay leaves. Mix.
• Add the thyme and paprika and mix well.
• Add the rice, tomatoes, beans and cooking water to the beans.
• Cook covered for 20 minutes over low heat, stirring as the preparation tends to stick to the bottom of the casserole.
• When all the liquid is absorbed by the rice, remove from heat and let stand 5 minutes before serving.

ARROZ CONGRí

Steps:

• Wash the soaked beans.
• Add them into a pressure cooker and cover generously with water.
• Lock the pressure cooker and cook the beans under pressure for 30 minutes.
• Wash the beans and soak them in water the night before or for a few hours before cooking.
• Take 2 large ladles of cooked beans and 2 large ladles of the cooking water.
• Heat the olive oil or lard in a Dutch oven over medium heat and add the diced pork and fry them until they release their fat and are golden.
• Remove the pieces of meat and, in the hot fat, add the sliced ​​onions, garlic, cilantro, ajis cachuchas (sweet Cuban peppers), and dry seasonings.
• Stir everything and add the kidney beans. Brown together with the rest of the ingredients for a few minutes, stirring constantly.
• Add the rice and mix it with all the other ingredients until the grains of rice start to absorb the flavors.
• Then cover everything with the reserved cooking water for the beans.
• Cover and cook over low to medium heat until the rice softens and absorbs all the water. Uncover and stir with a fork to separate the grains and prevent them from settling as they cool.
• Serve the arroz congrí hot, sprinkled with fried pork when ready to serve.

ARROZ CONGRI

Steps:

• This recipe starts with the frijoles. Put the beans and bay leaves in a saucepan and cover with 6 cups of water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce to a simmer. Add water when necessary to keep the beans covered by 1 inch, until just tender. This will take about one hour. Season with a pinch of salt to taste. Now it's time to have some fun! Fry the bacon and oil in a 6- to 8-quart pot. Cook over medium-low heat until slightly crispy. Add the onion, pepper, garlic, cumin, oregano and stir for about 10 minutes. Add the rice and stir to coat. Add the beans and their liquid, stir well, and add enough water to cover the beans and rice by about 3/4 inch. Bring to a rolling boil over medium-high heat then turn down the heat to maintain a gentle simmer. Cover tightly and do not uncover until the water is absorbed and the rice and beans are both cooked throughout about 20 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Once done, garnish with cilantro and drizzle with a little olive oil just before serving.