Sauteed Plantains with Beans and Rice

I first made this dish when the weather was finally starting to get nice enough in Boston to eat outside on the deck. We had friends over for dinner, drinks on the deck, and listened to great music. As the summer winds down, we are trying to eat on the deck as much as we can before we enter into the long seemingly endless Boston winter. I made this dinner tonight, trying to recapture a bit of the early summer fun. Mike and I listened to great music while preparing dinner and ate outside.

I also really like this dinner because it reminds me of the great food that we had on vacation in Puerto Rico four years ago. We love to eat in restaurants with renowned local dishes. I can't remember the name of the restaurant that we had the fried plantains in, but remembered how much we loved them.

Sauteed Plantains
2 plantains, yellow with some black spots
canola oil
sprinkling of kosher salt

1. Peel the plantains; cut into thirds crosswise Cut each piece into 4 (2 inch) slices.
2. Heat the canola oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add plantains to the pan; cook 3 minutes on each side, or until lightly browned. Transfer plantains to a plate and sprinkle with salt.

White Rice
canola oil
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper
1 minced garlic clove
4 cups water
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups uncooked rice (I used arborio rice instead of long-grained white rice mostly because I wanted to use up the rice that I had instead of buying more rice)

1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and pepper to the pan; cook 5 minutes or until tender. Add garlic; cook 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Add 4 cups of water and salt; bring to a boil. Stir in the rice. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer until liquid is absorbed (about 18 minutes).

Black Beans
You could open up a can of beans and just heat them up, or you can choose to add a little extra to the beans.

Canola oil
1 cup chopped onion
3/4 cup chopped red pepper
1/2 teaspoon brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1 cup water
2 (15-ounce) cans of black beans, undrained

1. Heat oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion and bell pepper to pan; cook 5 minutes or until tender. Stir in sugar, garlic, black pepper, and cumin; cook 1 minute. Stir in 1 cup water and beans; bring to a boil. Partially cover, reduce heat, and simmer 30 minutes or until slightly thick, stirring frequently.

Dinner was great. I think part of the fun of this dish are the delicious smells in the kitchen. I wish there was some way to capture the great smells of cooking.