Casamiento Hondureño
While I’ve been stuck in quarantine and social distancing from others, I’ve taken up cooking as a newfound hobby. If you’ve also taken to experimenting in the kitchen this summer, try out the following recipe for Casamiento, a traditional Honduran dish of rice and beans with coconut milk. This delicious dish can be served as a complementary side to almost any meal. Though this recipe showcases a Honduran perspective, variations of this dish are also popular throughout Central America in countries such as El Salvador, Costa Rica and Nicaragua, where the meal is called Gallo Pinto and is sometimes eaten 3 times a day, along with eggs, onion, and green pepper. As for its nombre catracho, the word casamiento translates to marriage— and this dish certainly marries the flavors of each ingredient in perfect culinary bliss!
PC: Google Images, 2020.
Serving size: 6-8 servings
Total time (prep & cooking): 30-35 minutes
Ingredients
2 cups white rice
About 2 tbsp oil (Olive or Vegetable)
2 cans black whole beans
1 can of coconut milk (any brand)
Optional: half a green pepper and half an onion, diced
½ cup water
Directions:
If you’d like to add the chopped vegetables, first dice the onion and green pepper.
In a medium sized pan, add the rice and oil, and mix. Cook on medium-high heat.
Optional: add the diced green pepper and/or onions.
When the rice starts to sizzle, stir briefly. (Until you add the lid, stir frequently to avoid burning the rice.)
Shake or stir coconut milk, then pour into rice mixture.
Add water and beans and stir.
When the rice begins to bubble vigorously, reduce heat to Low-Medium. (If you complete this step too early, the rice will not cook.)
Cover with a lid and cook, without stirring, for 20-25 min or until the rice appears dry. No liquid water or milk should remain when cooking is complete.
¡Buen provecho!