Moro de Habichuelas [Video+Recipe] Dominican Rice with Beans

Moro de habichuelas – Dominican rice and beans – is one of the most common dishes on the Dominican table. This is a generic Dominican moro rice recipe that you can modify by switching to other types of beans or legumes.

📝 Ingredients

• 5 tablespoons vegetable oil ((I prefer olive oil) divided)
• 1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
• 1 tablespoon mashed garlic
• 1/2 teaspoon dry thyme leaves (or a 3 sprigs of fresh thyme)
• 1/4 cup chopped celery
• 1/8 cup pitted green olives (sliced (optional))
• 1 teaspoon oregano (dry, ground)
• `1 cubanela (cubanelle pepper) (diced (or green bell pepper))
• 1/8 cup capers ((optional))
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste (or a cup of tomato sauce)
• 2 cup boiled red kidney beans (or canned)
• 2 teaspoons salt ((or more, to taste))
• 4 cup rice (long grain rice, Carolina)

👨‍🍳 Instructions

1. 1--- 1. Sauteing seasonings ---
2. 2Sauteing: Heat half the oil (2.5 Tbsp) in an cast aluminum or cast iron pot over low heat and sauté cilantro, garlic, thyme, celery, olives, oregano, cubanela, capers. Cook and stir for a minute, or until the ingredients release their aroma. Stir in the tomato sauce. Add beans, also while stirring, and season with salt.
3. 3--- 2. Adding water ---
4. 4Adding water: Once heated through, add 5 cups of water and bring to the boil (try the mixture and add salt to taste before proceeding, bear in mind that the rice will absorb some of the salt, so don't low-ball it).
5. 5--- 3. Cooking rice ---
6. 6Cooking rice: Once the water reaches a rolling boil stir in the rice and simmer stirring frequently to avoid excessive sticking. Make sure to remove the rice that sticks to the bottom.When the water has evaporated cover with a tight-fitting lid and simmer over very low heat for 15 minutes. After the 15 minutes have passed uncover, drizzle the remaining oil, and stir.Cover again another 5 minutes. After this the rice should be firm but tender inside. If necessary, cover and leave another 5 minutes over very low heat (if at this point it looks too dry add 1/4 cup of boiling water before stirring and covering.
7. 7--- 4. Serving ---
8. 8Serving: Remove from heat and serve.Find serving suggestions above the recipe.