I give you breakfast; Costa Rican style. Even though I can't eat first thing in the morning (coffee only until 10:00), once I'm ready, I adore breakfast. Usually, it's something simple like a bagel or English muffin, but when given the opportunity, I'm ready to dive into something more substantial. I always appreciate it when the food magazines include breakfast items in their selections. Fine Cooking did in their April/May issue, which is where this is from.
Something I don't like that Fine Cooking does is when they include an uncommon ingredient in a dish. While I am sure I could head to a specialty store in a bigger city or mail-order this condiment, it's a pity that I have to do that. What I do appreciate that Fine Cooking does is that they give an alternative to the unique ingredient for those of us who can't get our hands on it readily.
The ingredient in this recipe is Salsa Lizano. It's a common Costa Rican condiment, but apparently there aren't very many Costa Ricans in my area because I couldn't get my hands on it. So, I used the recommended Worcestershire sauce instead.
There are three cooking components to this dish; the rice, the bean mixture and the eggs. Rice was just boiled with a little salt. Eggs were fried in a little oil. Easy. Done.
For the beans, I started with red bell pepper and onion, finely diced. They were sauteed until soft and then I added some minced garlic. I put the garlic in a little later instead of at the same times as the other vegetables because of the finer dice. I find that if I include it at the same time, sometimes it burns before the onions are soft.
Once the vegetables were ready, cumin went in and the aroma was instantly mouthwatering. I love cumin. Oh, I was ready to eat this dish. Tomato sauce went in after the cumin and then the beans and some water. The mixture simmered until the water had reduced a bit. Once that's done, the cooked rice is added along with the condiment (Salsa Lizano or Worcestershire), salt and pepper and it all gets stirred well. It's very hard not to start eating straight out of the pan at this point. It smells that good.
However, I resisted and spooned a good portion on my plate, topped it with the fried eggs and added a touch of cilantro. Breakfast was served.
Yum, yum, oh yum. It was love at first bite. Every part of this dish sings. I wish I had the Salsa so I could taste how it really should be, but it's still fantastic with the Worcestershire. Seriously, it is. The addition of the eggs is awesome, but Hubby just kept eating the rice and beans straight out of the sauce pan and I'll admit to having gone back into the kitchen to snag another nibble or two since having finished breakfast. The eggs and beans stand on their own just fine.
If you don't like Mexican rice, give this a try anyhow because I don't and I did and I love it.