Gallo pinto

Ingredients

Beans

• 300 gsmall red beans (frijoles rojos de seda), soaked overnight
• 1.5 litreswater
• ½onion, in one piece
• 3garlic cloves, peeled
• 1 sprigfresh oregano or a bay leaf
• 2 tspsalt, added at the end

To fry

• 500 gcooked white rice, cooked the day before and kept cold
• 4 tbspvegetable oil
• 1onion, finely diced
• 1green sweet pepper (chiltoma), finely diced
• 3garlic cloves, minced
• 180–220 mlof the bean cooking liquor (caldo)
• 1 tspsalt
• ½ tspblack pepper
• 2 tbspcoriander, chopped (optional)

To serve

• 4eggs, fried in oil with crisp edges
• 200 gcuajada or fresh salty white cheese, sliced
• 2ripe plantains, sliced and fried to maduros
• 4corn tortillas, warmed
• 4 tbspcrema or sour cream

Directions

1. Drain the soaked beans, cover with fresh water and add the onion piece, garlic and oregano. Simmer, partly covered, for 1 hour 15 minutes to 1 hour 30 minutes, until the beans are completely soft and the skins are no longer tough.
2. Salt the beans only in the last 10 minutes; salted early, the skins toughen and they never soften properly.
3. Drain the beans but keep every drop of the dark red cooking liquor. That caldo is what colours and flavours the rice, and it is the difference between gallo pinto and plain rice with beans.
4. Use cold, dry, day-old rice. Freshly cooked rice is too wet and will turn to porridge in the pan; Nicaraguan cooks make the rice the day before as a matter of course.
5. Heat the oil in a wide heavy frying pan or a comal over medium-high heat and fry the onion and chiltoma for 6–8 minutes until soft and just beginning to colour at the edges.
6. Add the garlic and cook 30 seconds, then tip in the drained beans and fry them for 3–4 minutes, pressing a few against the pan so they break and thicken the mix.
7. Add the cold rice and toss and turn it with a wooden spoon until every grain is coated and separated, about 3 minutes.
8. Pour in the bean liquor a little at a time, stirring, until the rice takes on an even reddish-brown colour and looks moist but not wet. Add salt and pepper.
9. Now leave it alone: spread it flat and let it sit over medium heat for 3–4 minutes so a lightly crisp layer forms on the base, then turn it in sections. That toasted layer is what people fight over.
10. Fold in the coriander if using and serve immediately with a fried egg on top, cuajada, fried maduros, warm tortillas and a spoon of crema. It is breakfast, but it also appears at lunch and dinner.

Technique

• Nicaraguan gallo pinto uses small red beans and their liquor, and is seasoned with little more than onion, chiltoma, garlic and salt. The Costa Rican version uses black beans and a bottled brown condiment, and the two countries have argued about which is the original for decades; the Nicaraguan claim rests on the older documented usage of the name.
• The bean liquor is the whole seasoning system. Never drain it away, and add it gradually so the rice absorbs colour without going soggy.
• Day-old rice, high heat and a wide pan are the three technical requirements. Crowding a small pan steams the rice grey.
• The name means spotted rooster, from the speckled look of the red beans through the white rice.

Substitutions

• No small red beans: use red kidney beans or black beans, cooked the same way. Black beans give a darker, sweeter dish that is closer to the Costa Rican style.
• Tinned beans work in a hurry; use 2 tins drained, and replace the caldo with 200 ml water simmered for 5 minutes with a few crushed beans, a garlic clove and a pinch of salt.
• Chiltoma is simply a mild local sweet pepper; a green bell pepper is a direct substitute.

Variations

• Gallo pinto served under two fried eggs and a heap of maduros, the full desayuno nicaraguense.
• Gallo pinto with coconut milk, the Caribbean-coast style from Bluefields and the Corn Islands.
• Gallo pinto served with cuajada and tortilla alone, the plain rural breakfast.

History

Rice and beans fried together and seasoned with Salsa Lizano; Costa Rica and Nicaragua dispute its origin and both treat it as breakfast.

Frequently asked questions

What is Gallo pinto?

Gallo pinto is a breakfast from Costa Rica: rice and black beans with Lizano sauce; the daily start. Rice and beans fried together and seasoned with Salsa Lizano; Costa Rica and Nicaragua dispute its origin and both treat it as breakfast.

How long does Gallo pinto take to make?

Gallo pinto takes 15 min of preparation and 1 hr 30 min for the beans, 15 min to fry of cooking. The recipe makes 4 servings. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Gallo pinto?

Yes, within limits. No small red beans: use red kidney beans or black beans, cooked the same way. Black beans give a darker, sweeter dish that is closer to the Costa Rican style. Tinned beans work in a hurry; use 2 tins drained, and replace the caldo with 200 ml water simmered for 5 minutes with a few crushed beans, a garlic clove and a pinch of salt. Chiltoma is simply a mild local sweet pepper; a green bell pepper is a direct substitute.

What is the most important thing to get right in Gallo pinto?

Salt the beans only in the last 10 minutes; salted early, the skins toughen and they never soften properly.