“Dominican cooking? It’s more than just rice and beans you know”… that statement could be this site’s motto, and probably would be if it were a little more snappy.
Most visitors to the country cannot be blamed for thinking on first sight that Dominican food is just rice and beans. It is the ‘plato del dia‘ (dish of the day) in every typical comedor, and the daily lunch on most traditional family tables.
“Don’t they get tired of eating the same thing every single day?” says the visitor. Where are you from, Sir or Madam? Italy? What do you eat every day? Pasta? “Va bene… si“. England? Chips with everything isn’t it? Or do you sometimes break from routine with mashed potatoes and even allow yourself the indulgence of roast potatoes on high days and holidays? “Can’t argue with that one, mate”. I could go on like this for a while, but before you jump in and remind me that this argument is a bit petty, and not really that convincing, let me give my real reply to the charge of gastronomic monotony.
The ‘Dominican Flag’, the central plate on the Dominican lunch menu has its variations. Rice and beans is not just rice and beans. It can be rice and beans prepared together or separately. When they are mixed together they are known as ‘moro‘. I can think of at least four types of ‘moro’: red bean moro, black bean moro, pigeon pea moro and any of these with coconut. So far we have six variations. Add four more to the list: stewed red beans, stewed black beans, and stewed pigeon peas (guandules), the latter with or without coconut. Then the Bandera‘s other important item, the stewed meat can comprise of goat, beef, pork, chicken or fish (usually cod). Allora! Our beloved ‘Bandera Dominicana’ has at least fifteen permutations, old bean.
Not every single Dominican kitchen will produce a ‘Bandera Dominicana‘ type meal every day. There are plenty more choices available, including Dominican style chow fan and pasta, and vegetable based bakes which can be made with or without meat. Just look in the list of recipes on the site to see what I am driving at. Dominican Cooking – much more than rice and beans!
What I do find strange still, although I’m used to it, is the fact that in some restaurants, if you order a rice as a side dish, to accompany your fish for example, you are presented with a little bowl of bean stew without having asked for one. Is this because it is unthinkable, treasonous or sacrilegious to serve rice without beans?
By Aunt Ilana
Habichuelas is an inherent part of our culture and one of the components of La Bandera Dominicana (The Dominican Flag), our traditional lunch.
Ingredients
- 2 cups of dry red kidney beans, pinto beans or cranberry beans
- 1 small red onion cut into four quarters
- 1 sprig of thyme (optional)
- 1/2 teaspoon of chopped fresh cilantro
- Leaves from a celery stalk, chopped (optional)
- 1 tablespoon of tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon of oil
- 1/2 teaspoon of mashed garlic
- 1 pinch of oregano
- Salt
Instructions
- Soak the beans overnight.
- Remove the beans from the soaking water and boil in fresh water until they are very soft (may take up to an hour and a half, about 20 minutes in a pressure cooker.
- Separate the beans from the boiling water. Reserve both.
- In a pot heat the oil over medium heat.
- Add oregano, onion, garlic, tomato paste, celery, thyme and cilantro. Cook and stir for half a minute.
- Add the beans and simmer for two minutes.
- Add the water in which the beans boiled.
- Lightly mashed the beans with a potato masher to break them out of the skin.
- Cook until it reaches a creamy consistency.
- Season with salt to taste.
- Serve with arroz blanco, a side dish (or salad) and meat.
Aunt Clara's Kitchen is a collection of traditional Dominican recipes, recipes inspired by Dominican flavors, as well as the chronicles of the Aunties' adventures in the kitchen and outside.
{ 27 comments… read them below or add one }
These beans were soooooo good!!!!!! Taste just like my grandmother used to make! I give it 5 stars
Glad to hear that.
my beans always come out watery =( as much as try to make them the real dominican style, thick… how do i make them like that?
if u want it thicker u can add pumpkin (calabasa o auyama) o papa (potatoes)
You can try putting half of the beans in the blender and then slow boiling them.
Or like the recipe suggests, you can mash them a bit. That’s what I do.
Me ma adds squash to the bean stew. It makes a good thickener agent and adds a subtle, bittersweet flavor.
I am a Carolina countrygirl who has fallen hopelessly in love with a ‘Platano’…. and though legumes are a cornerstone to both our native cuisines, the types and flavors are altogether different. As my sweetheart cannot seem to learn to love the black eyed peas, limas and other white beans from my childhood and pines endlessly for the taste of his homeland, I diligently search for the most authentic Dominican recipes to appease his finicky appetite. I find that I am constantly referring back to you when he yearns for any ‘Dominican style’ plate, dear Aunt Clara. I cannot thank you enough for sharing your dishes. Because of you I have been able to replicate the distinctive flavor and texture of this diet staple he so loves. Thank you for helping us little gringas please the palates of our beloved Dominican transplants!
I am glad to hear that!
my beans are like this too, but i also add calabaza.
If I use a pressure cooker for beans, will I have to add more water to boil it?
Yes, you might have to as you can not readjust the water mid-boil.
TIA!!!!This recipe comes out to taste the same as my Dominican husband’s mother. I am Persian, but am married to a Dominican Puerto Rican, and I had been learning cooking from his mom and aunt, PERO…. their recipes never worked when i got home, ( i swore they were teaching me something different than what they cooked…lol) anyways I am also in search of the perfect POLLO GUISADO, which is my fave dish, but it never comes out right…. any tips?
Tia help me please before I begin the guisada, am I using hard beans that I am to sit in water over night to soften them before I boil them or are you using canned beans? How much water when I boil the beans and do I add any seasoning to the boil?
Boil the beans in abundant water, no seasoning, until they are very soft. It’s the simplest thing.
Are you using canned beans? Or the bagged hard ones that have to be put in water over night?
I made these today and they taste like a Dominican made them!! I’m American and look forward to inviting my friends over to taste my Dominican skills!
Thanks so much for posting.
when asked what he wants for dinner, my 4 year old wants, “crunchy rice, beans, and chicken.”
I cannot find calabaza in upstate New York. Any suggestions for a subsistute?
I’m haitian and I love bean soup. But over the past year I had Dominican red beans and fell in love with bean soup even more. I finally tried your recipe and it was right on the money. Only thing I was missing was the thyme but the flavor was on point. Thanks Aunt Clara.
Thanks for sharing. I loved to hear that you liked the result.
How many servings will this recipe make?
uhhh dumb question…when you say “mashed garlic” do you mean ajo molido or do you mean to crush the clove and then remove once the beans are done?
thanks!
Yes, crushed to a pulp. And that wasn’t a dumb question.
I’m a novice cook and I hope this doesn’t sound dumb but where you list the ingredients you say tomato sauce. Then in the directions you say tomato paste. Is it one or the other? Or do I use both?
Thanks for asking! It was a brain hiccup, I will fix it now.
Thanks
I tried it with paste anyway because that’s all I had and it came out amazing! My boyfriend is Dominican and I have never made a Dominican dish in my life lol. These taste exactly like his Mother’s beans. I am so glad I found your site and this recipe. Can’t wait to try your other dishes 