A trip to Cuba and the palate
Introduction
Moors and Christian rice is one of the most characteristic dishes of Cuban cuisine, and of much of the Caribbean Sea. And despite its simplicity and the economic of its ingredients it really is one of the delicacies that no one should miss when a vacation in Cuba passes. Do you feel like trying it? Cuba style rice? Interestingly in Spain we call Cuban rice to a very different dish from the Moors and Christian rice. And in fact there are many Spanish tourists who when Havana, Varadero or any other site of the great Caribbean island arrive, is very surprised to discover that the rice to the Cuban (with tomato and a fried egg) there is something unknown.
Developing
But there is another curiosity. When in Spain we talk about Moors and Christians, as a rule you think about the famous celebrations of places such as Alcoy and other populations of Alicante. However, the denomination of this rice in Cuba has nothing to do with those representations loaded with history. The reason for the name of Moors and Christians, is a matter of color. Now we explain it! Why Moorish and Christian rice? How do we say the name of Moor and Christian rice refers to the colors of their ingredients. On the one hand the boiled white rice and on the other the black beans in its sauce.
While those two colors so different are only appreciated in the presentation of the dish, since the usual thing is to join the ingredients and everything ends in a mixture of the most curious. Actually, something like the fusion that are actually the people of the Antilles. In fact, Moors and Christians is a Creole dish, which is not only present in Cuban cuisine. Practically identical recipes are found throughout the region. While the names vary, for example, it is rice with gandules in Puerto Rico, or Morisqueta in Mexico, or gallopinto in Costa Rica, and so we could continue throughout the Caribbean.
Origin Spanish? There are historians of gastronomy who thinks that the dish would be originally from Spain. The ingredients are also found in Europe. After all, it is still a cheap dish based on rice and legumes, carbohydrates and plant protein, that is, tremendously economical and very nutritious for working people. However, that origin is not clear, and in any case if it was traditional in Spain, that custom was abandoned. And it is more possible that that name was given in the Antilles by the settlers. While in Cuba, the combination is also called Congrí.
Moors and Christian rice recipe. But after all these historical notes, the time has come to cook a good pot with Moors and Christians. The first step is to leave the black beans (or beans paint) soak the night before. After that night and in the same water you have to boil them about 45 minutes. With nothing, just beans. On the other hand, make a stir -fry based on onion, garlic and green pepper. A mixture that must be seasoned with salt, pepper, a bay leaf, oregano and cumin. You can also add a splash of vinegar and a grated tomato. And when everything is cooked, it is added to the legume and is cooked with it over low heat.
conclusion
And of course, in another pot the white rice must be boiled, until you acquire its point. After that there is only Moors and Christian rice, much better if it is on a large dish. On one side the rice, to the other the beans. So each can eat it as you want, separately or scrambled. Try doing it at home. It is very easy and cheap. Besides that it is a tasty dish, Moors and Christian rice provides us with the pleasure of traveling with the palate to the Caribbean. And so we turn food into an excellent emotional evasion for these long days of obligatory and necessary confinement.
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