Jagacida

Ingredients

Beans

• 300 gdried beans
• butter beans or kidney beans
• water, for soaking
• 1.5 litreswater, for cooking

Rice

• 400 glong grain rice
• rinsed and drained

The pot

• 2onions, chopped
• 4garlic cloves, crushed
• 3bay leaves
• 4 tablespoonsolive oil
• 1tomato, chopped, optional
• 1sweet pepper, chopped, optional
• salt and black pepper

Sometimes added

• 100 gbacon or chorizo
• 1stock cube
• a splash of palm oil

To serve

• grilled or fried fish
• or a meat stew
• salad

Directions

1. Boil them hard for ten full minutes. Never cook dried kidney beans in a slow cooker. Butter beans do not carry the same risk. Butter beans are common in Cape Verde. Rinse the dried beans in cold water.
2. Pick out any small stones or shrivelled beans. Cover them with plenty of cold water. Soak them for at least eight hours. Drain the soaked beans thoroughly. Rinse them well under running water. Never cook them in their soaking water.
3. Put the beans in a large pot with fresh water. Add two of the bay leaves to them. Bring it up to a rolling boil. Boil it hard for ten full minutes. Give them about one full hour. Salt them only once they are tender. Drain the beans, keeping all the liquid.
4. Top it up with water if there is not enough. You want about two parts liquid to one of rice. Heat the olive oil in a wide heavy pot. Add the chopped onions to the pot. Cook them for a good eight minutes.
5. Add the crushed garlic to them. Cook it for a good two minutes. Add the tomato and pepper if using them. Cook them down for about five minutes. Add the rinsed drained rice to the pot. Stir it through so every grain is coated. Let it fry for about two minutes. Coating the grains in oil first helps them stay separate. Pour in the measured bean liquid. Add the cooked beans to the pot.
6. Add the last bay leaf to the pot. Season it with salt and black pepper. Bring the whole pot up to a boil. Cover the pot with a tight lid. Let it cook for about twenty minutes. Do not lift the lid at any point. Take the pot off the heat entirely.
7. Leave the lid on and let it stand. Give it a full ten minutes to rest. Spoon it onto plates or a platter. Serve grilled or fried fish alongside. It keeps three days refrigerated.

Technique

• Rice cooked with beans runs across the Atlantic world along Portuguese trade routes, with versions in Angola, Mozambique and Brazil, alongside Caribbean rice and peas and West African waakye; each developed its own seasoning and beans.
• The beans are cooked first and the rice is then cooked in the bean liquid, which is starchy and full of flavour and also colours the rice; throwing it away wastes the whole point.
• If dried red kidney beans are used they must be boiled hard for ten full minutes, since raw ones contain phytohaemagglutinin and cause severe vomiting from as few as four or five beans; never cook them in a slow cooker.

Substitutions

• Butter beans, kidney beans and black-eyed beans are all used depending on what is available.
• Tinned beans work with stock in place of the bean cooking liquid.

Variations

• Some households add bacon or chorizo to the pot.
• A splash of palm oil is added in some versions.
• It is served with fish, with meat stew or on its own.

History

Rice cooked with beans and bay, known as jag, a one-pot the islands share with the Portuguese-African world.

Frequently asked questions

What is Jagacida?

Jagacida is a main from Cape Verde: rice cooked with beans and bay leaf. Rice cooked with beans and bay, known as jag, a one-pot the islands share with the Portuguese-African world.

How long does Jagacida take to make?

Jagacida takes 20 minutes plus soaking of preparation and 1 hour 30 minutes of cooking. The recipe makes serves 6. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Jagacida?

Yes, within limits. Butter beans, kidney beans and black-eyed beans are all used depending on what is available. Tinned beans work with stock in place of the bean cooking liquid.

What is the most important thing to get right in Jagacida?

Boil them hard for ten full minutes. Never cook dried kidney beans in a slow cooker. Butter beans do not carry the same risk. Butter beans are common in Cape Verde. Rinse the dried beans in cold water.