What I'm cooking and eating

09 October 2018

Rice, beans and mushrooms

Once again, I am inspired by Amuse Your Bouche.  I don't really like cilantro, though, and (at the time I planned this dish) had half a punnet of mushrooms that wanted eaten.  As it turned out, I didn't make this when I first thought of doing so (long story) so make the mushrooms into soup, and bought fresh for this dish.  It was very good, but I wish I'd cooked the beans a little longer!

1/2 cup uncooked black beans
1/2 cup uncooked rice
1/2 punnet mushrooms
3 cloves garlic
1/2 packet cream cheese (I used garlic-and-herb flavoured, but sweet chilli might also have been nice)
A little cooking oil and butter
1 tsp pilau seasoning (or as liked)
2 tsp mushroom ketchup
1 vegetable stock cube

Soak the beans overnight, and then cook in water to which you have added a stock cube in a pressure cooker or Instant Pot - I cooked mine for 10 minutes and they just weren't quite cooked, so maybe 12-15 minutes would be better.

Put a little cooking oil or butter in a saucepan, heat it, then add the pilau seasoning and the rice.  Stir, then add 1 cup salted boiling water.  Stir again, then reduce the heat as low as it will go and leave the rice, covered, to cook undisturbed for 15 minutes.
  Meanwhile, melt the butter in another saucepan and add the crushed garlic, the mushrooms that you have cut or broken into small pieces and the ketchup.  Allow to cook on a low heat. 

When the rice is cooked, stir the cream cheese into the mushrooms, and bring back to the boil; then add the cooked rice and the beans to the same pan.  Serve at once.  Serves 2.