Savory Rice and Beans
Rice and Beans (Cayman Style) is probably the first dish I had here on Grand Cayman. This West Indian food was probably transported here from Jamaica before the Cayman Islands became a separate country. Here in Cayman, this traditional Jamaican food has been slightly altered to incorporate the different spices available here.
Typically the rice used in this dish is long grain white rice. Also, the beans are red beans or kidney beans. The peppers used in this dish are called seasoning peppers. They are actually related to the Scotch Bonnet pepper, but they have more flavor and less heat.
Like many Caribbean dishes, every cook has their own variation on this dish. Some like to add quite a bit of coconut milk, while others like to spice it up with Scotch Bonnet peppers. The best I've ever had was at a restaurant where it had been cooked with a little beef broth.
Jamaican food recipes include a variant of this dish call Rice and Peas. In Jamaica, sometimes this dish is made with cowpeas (black-eyed peas) or pigeon peas. I also noticed that the Jamaican version of this dish is made with less coconut milk and more peppers.
Rice and Beans
Ingredients
- 1 cup of kidney beans
- 2 cups of white rice
- 2 cups coconut milk
- 3 1/2 cups water
- 1/2 onion
- 1 seasoning pepper (native to Cayman, but related to Scotch Bonnet peppers)
- 1 teaspoon of dried thyme
- black pepper and salt to taste
Preparation
- Soak the beans overnight.
- Cook the beans until they are tender (about an hour).
- Drain the beans and save the bean water, it should be about 3 cups. You may need to add more water to get to 3 cups.
- In another pot, boil previously saved bean water, salt, black pepper, thyme, onion, and seasoning pepper.
- Add previously boiled beans and coconut milk and let everything come to a boil.
- Add rice. Make sure there is about 1/2 inch of water over the rice and beans.
- When the pot starts to boil again, lower the heat and let it simmer for about 20 minutes or until all of the water is absorbed.
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