Cuban black beans and rice with fried plantain

Smoky, garlicky black beans simmered with peppers, cumin and oregano and spooned over rice, as eaten in homes across Cuba. Sweet fried plantain on the side makes it a complete, cheap and cheerful vegan meal.

Ingredients

• 30 ml Olive oil
• 1 Onions, finely chopped
• 1 Peppers, green, diced
• 0.4 Garlic, crushed
• 5 g Ground cumin
• 2 g Dried oregano
• 1 g Bay leaves, 2 leaves
• 800 g Black beans, 2 tins, with their liquid
• 15 ml Red wine vinegar
• 4 g Salt
• 300 g Basmati rice
• 2 Plantains, ripe, with black-spotted skins
• 60 ml Vegetable oil, for frying
• 1 Limes, cut into wedges
• 10 g Fresh coriander, chopped

Method

1. Heat the olive oil and cook the onion and pepper gently until very soft, then stir in the garlic, cumin and oregano for a minute.
2. Add the black beans with their liquid, the bay leaves and salt. Simmer, stirring now and then and lightly mashing a few beans against the side of the pan, until thick and creamy. Stir in the vinegar at the end.
3. Meanwhile, rinse the rice and simmer it in 600ml salted water with the lid on until the water is absorbed. Leave covered.
4. Peel the plantains and slice on the diagonal. Fry in the vegetable oil over a medium heat until caramelised on both sides, then drain on kitchen paper with a sprinkle of salt.
5. Spoon the beans over the rice and serve with the plantain, lime wedges and coriander.