Here’s a great recipe for when you need a fast, easy, and super-flavorful lunch or supper. All three elements—salsa, rice, and beans—are useful as stand-alone recipes. The salsa recipe is versatile, because you can mix and match fruits and customize it to your own taste.
This recipe is an example of the way we develop and test and retest dishes. A couple of us had worked on this recipe and it was good, just not yet perfect. So we called in Linda Dickinson, who we call LD, to taste and make suggestions. LD has one of the most discerning palates at Moosewood and has served as the final arbiter of recipes for a number of our cookbooks. She added coconut milk, tweaked the seasonings, and created the yellow coconut rice, improvements that upgraded this dish to superlatively excellent.
The hotness of curry pastes varies in intensity from brand to brand, so start cautiously and add more to taste. We like the balance of flavors in Thai Kitchen Red Curry Paste.
Serves 4
Time: 40 minutes
2 cups diced fresh fruit*
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice or vinegar
1 teaspoon minced fresh hot peppers or hot sauce, or ⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper
½ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro, basil, Thai basil, or scallions
Brown sugar (optional)
1½ cups white, white basmati, or jasmine rice, rinsed and drained
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vegetable oil or olive oil
1½ cups water
¾ cup coconut milk**
⅔ cup minced shallots
2 large garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon peeled and grated fresh ginger
2 tablespoons olive oil
4½ cups drained cooked black beans (three 15-ounce cans, drained)
2 teaspoons red curry paste (see headnote)
¼ cup fresh lime juice
¾ cup coconut milk**
Brown sugar (optional)
Salt or soy sauce
*Use one fruit or a mix, whichever you like or have on hand: mangoes, pineapple, peaches.
**One 13.5-ounce can coconut milk is the right amount for both the rice and beans.
Make the salsa: Stir together all the ingredients for the fruit salsa and set aside to allow the flavors to meld while the rice cooks and you prepare the beans.
Make the rice: Rinse and drain the rice in a fine-mesh sieve. In a saucepan on medium-high heat, sauté the rice, turmeric, and salt in the oil for a minute or two, stirring constantly. Add the water and coconut milk and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce the heat to low, and simmer until the rice is tender and the liquid has been absorbed, 15 to 20 minutes. Turn off the heat and fluff the rice with a fork. Cover the saucepan with a clean kitchen towel, and replace the lid. Let sit until ready to serve.
Make the black beans: Meanwhile, in a large skillet on medium heat, cook the shallots, garlic, and ginger in the olive oil for a few minutes, until the shallots are lightly browned. Add the beans, curry paste, lime juice, and coconut milk and stir well. Simmer, stirring often, for 10 to 15 minutes. Mash some of the beans right in the skillet if you want a thicker consistency. Add additional curry paste, a teaspoon or two of brown sugar if you want a little sweetness, and salt or soy sauce to taste.
Serve the beans on rice with a generous dollop of the fruit salsa.
This dish has a lot going on, but a crisp side salad, such as Sugar Snap Peas with Coconut and Lime would be welcome. For a more expansive meal, add Latin American Peppers and Corn or Sweet Potatoes with Bitter Orange. Rich Vegan Chocolate Pudding is the perfect dessert.