[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":402},["ShallowReactive",2],{"recipe:moros-y-cristianos":3,"recipe:country:cuba":193},{"slug":4,"title":5,"nativeName":6,"pronunciation":7,"countrySlug":8,"region":9,"emoji":10,"summary":11,"intro":12,"story":13,"whyThis":14,"tips":19,"substitutions":26,"variations":39,"serveWith":49,"storage":51,"faq":52,"equipment":68,"baseServings":72,"prepMinutes":73,"cookMinutes":74,"restMinutes":75,"difficulty":76,"course":77,"diet":79,"mainIngredients":84,"ingredients":89,"instructions":140,"nutrition":167,"images":174,"keywords":184,"publishedAt":191,"updatedAt":191,"authorSlug":192},"moros-y-cristianos","Moros y Cristianos (Cuban Black Beans Cooked with Rice)","Moros y cristianos","MOH-rohs ee krees-tee-AH-nohs","cuba","Nationwide","🍚","Rice cooked in black bean broth until every grain turns grey-violet, seasoned with garlic, cumin and bay. The side dish that sits under half of Cuban cooking.","Moros y cristianos is rice cooked in the liquid the black beans were boiled in, so the grains take on colour, salt and flavour from the inside rather than sitting next to the beans on the plate. Done properly it comes out a dusky grey-violet, each grain separate, tasting of garlic, cumin, bay and pork fat if you use it. That single technical decision — cooking the rice in bean broth instead of water — is what separates this from a bowl of rice with beans spooned over it. It is the standard accompaniment to roast pork, ropa vieja and fried fish across the island, and it is substantial enough on its own with an egg and a tomato salad.","The name is blunt and old: Moors and Christians, black beans and white rice, a reference to the centuries of Muslim and Christian coexistence and conflict on the Iberian peninsula. The phrase came to the Caribbean with Spanish colonists and attached itself to a dish that is, ingredient for ingredient, mostly not Spanish at all — black beans are American, rice arrived in Spain through Moorish agriculture and crossed the Atlantic afterwards. Whether a name like that sits comfortably in the twenty-first century is a fair question, and some cooks now simply call the dish congri; in Cuba the old name remains in ordinary use without much reflection.\n\nThere is a real distinction between moros y cristianos and congrí, and Cubans do not fully agree on it. The most common position is that moros y cristianos is made with black beans and congrí with red beans, congrí oriental being the eastern speciality from around Santiago. Another common position is that congrí refers to any rice cooked together with beans and moros is the specifically black-bean version of it. In practice the two names are used interchangeably in plenty of households, and correcting someone about it is a reliable way to start a long conversation over a small matter.\n\nWhat everyone agrees on is the method and the plate it belongs to. The beans are cooked first, their broth is measured and used as the cooking liquid for the rice, and the whole thing finishes covered and undisturbed. It appears beside lechon asado at Christmas, beside ropa vieja at Sunday lunch, and beside almost anything on a weekday, and it is one of the dishes Cuban families abroad make most often because it needs nothing that is hard to find. Traditionally it starts with bacon or salt pork rendered for the sofrito; the version here keeps that optional, since the meatless one is just as common in practice.",[15,16,17,18],"The rice is cooked in measured bean broth, which is the whole point of the dish and the step most recipes skip.","A precise liquid-to-rice ratio so the grains finish separate and coloured, not sticky and grey.","Vegan as written, with the traditional bacon or salt pork given as an option rather than assumed.","Works from dried beans in one afternoon or from a tin on a weeknight, with both routes spelled out.",[20,21,22,23,24,25],"Measure the bean broth exactly. The ratio that works is 1 part rice to 1.6 parts liquid by volume for a covered pot.","Rinse the rice until the water runs clear so the grains stay separate instead of clumping into a purple porridge.","Never stir once the lid is on. Every stir releases starch and the finished rice turns sticky.","If the broth looks pale, simmer it uncovered for a few minutes to concentrate before the rice goes in — colour comes from the broth, not the beans.","Fluff with a fork rather than a spoon, lifting from the bottom, so you do not crush the beans through the rice.","A whole green pepper cooked with the beans and then removed adds background sweetness without leaving pieces in the finished dish.",[27,31,35],{"original":28,"swap":29,"note":30},"Dried black beans","2 tins of black beans plus 700 ml of vegetable stock","Tinned beans have no flavourful cooking liquid, so use stock and add an extra half teaspoon of cumin to compensate.",{"original":32,"swap":33,"note":34},"Olive oil","100 g diced bacon or salt pork, rendered","This is the traditional fat and gives a smokier, richer result. Cook it first and build the sofrito in the rendered fat.",{"original":36,"swap":37,"note":38},"Black beans","Red kidney beans","This makes congrí oriental, the eastern Cuban version. Same method, redder colour, slightly sweeter beans.",[40,43,46],{"name":41,"description":42},"Congrí oriental","The Santiago version made with red beans and usually bacon, sometimes with a little more cumin and a dried chile in the pot.",{"name":44,"description":45},"With bacon and chorizo","Render 100 g of bacon and 80 g of sliced Spanish chorizo before the sofrito; the rice picks up smoke and turns a deeper reddish grey.",{"name":47,"description":48},"Oven-finished","Bring everything to a boil on the hob, then cover and finish in a 180°C oven for 25 minutes for perfectly even cooking in a wide pan.",[50],"Roast pork, ropa vieja or fried fish, with fried plantains and a tomato and avocado salad.","Keeps 3 days refrigerated in a sealed container. Reheat covered with 2 tablespoons of water sprinkled over the top so the grains steam back to life rather than drying out. It freezes acceptably for 2 months but the beans soften noticeably on thawing, so freeze it only if you plan to eat it as part of something else. Cool leftovers quickly and refrigerate within an hour, as with any cooked rice.",[53,56,59,62,65],{"question":54,"answer":55},"What is the difference between moros y cristianos and congrí?","The most widely held view is that moros y cristianos uses black beans while congrí, particularly congrí oriental from eastern Cuba, uses red beans. Others use congrí as the general term for any rice cooked with beans, with moros as the black-bean subtype. Usage varies by household and region and the two names are frequently swapped without anyone objecting.",{"question":57,"answer":58},"Why is my rice sticky instead of separate?","Usually unrinsed rice, too much liquid, or stirring after the lid went on. Rinse the rice until the water runs clear to remove surface starch, measure the bean broth rather than estimating it, and leave the pot completely alone for the full covered cooking time so the starch stays in the grains.",{"question":60,"answer":61},"Can I use tinned beans?","Yes, but you lose the cooking liquid, which is where most of the flavour and all of the colour come from. Use two tins of drained black beans with 700 ml of well-seasoned vegetable or chicken stock as the cooking liquid, and add extra cumin and a bay leaf since the stock has not absorbed anything from the beans.",{"question":63,"answer":64},"Is this dish vegan?","As written here, yes — it uses olive oil and no meat. The traditional Cuban version often begins by rendering bacon or salt pork for the sofrito, which makes it not vegan, but the meatless version is extremely common on the island and is not considered a modern adaptation.",{"question":66,"answer":67},"What does moros y cristianos mean?","It translates as Moors and Christians, an old Spanish reference to the black beans and white rice standing for the Muslim and Christian populations of medieval Iberia. The name arrived in Cuba with Spanish colonists. Some cooks today prefer the name congrí, but moros remains in everyday use across Cuba.",[69,70,71],"Medium pot for the beans","Heavy pot or Dutch oven with a tight lid","Measuring jug",6,15,100,10,"easy",[78],"side",[80,81,82,83],"vegetarian","vegan","gluten-free","dairy-free",[85,86,87,88],"black-beans","rice","garlic","cumin",[90,95,100,104,109,116,119,121,124,127,130,134,136],{"ref":85,"qty":91,"unit":92,"name":93,"group":94},250,"g","dried black beans, soaked overnight and drained","For the beans",{"ref":96,"qty":97,"unit":98,"name":99,"group":94},"bell-pepper",1,"piece","green bell pepper, left whole, stem and seeds removed",{"ref":101,"qty":102,"unit":98,"name":103,"group":94},"bay-leaf",2,"bay leaves",{"qty":105,"unit":106,"name":107,"noScale":108,"group":94},1.5,"l","water",true,{"ref":110,"qty":111,"unit":112,"name":113,"note":114,"group":115},"olive-oil",4,"tbsp","olive oil","or 100 g diced bacon, rendered, for the traditional version","For the sofrito",{"ref":117,"qty":97,"unit":98,"name":118,"group":115},"onion","large onion, finely chopped",{"qty":97,"unit":98,"name":120,"group":115},"green bell pepper, finely chopped",{"ref":87,"qty":72,"unit":122,"name":123,"group":115},"clove","garlic, finely chopped",{"ref":88,"qty":102,"unit":125,"name":126,"group":115},"tsp","ground cumin",{"ref":128,"qty":97,"unit":125,"name":129,"group":115},"oregano","dried oregano",{"ref":86,"qty":131,"unit":92,"name":132,"group":133},450,"long grain white rice, rinsed and drained","For the rice",{"qty":102,"unit":125,"name":135,"group":133},"fine salt",{"ref":137,"qty":97,"unit":125,"name":138,"group":139},"vinegar","white vinegar","To finish",[141,146,149,153,156,159,163],{"title":142,"text":143,"timerSeconds":144,"tip":145},"Boil the beans","Simmer the soaked beans with the whole green pepper, bay leaves and 1.5 litres of water for 60 to 70 minutes, unsalted, until they are tender but still hold their shape and have not begun to split. The cooking water should be dark and slightly thickened.",3900,"Keep the beans just covered with liquid; if the level drops, add hot water rather than cold.",{"title":147,"text":148},"Separate beans and broth","Drain the beans over a jug and keep the broth. Discard the whole pepper and the bay leaves. Measure out 750 ml of broth, topping up with water if you are short or simmering it down uncovered if the colour looks weak.",{"title":150,"text":151,"timerSeconds":152},"Build the sofrito","Heat the olive oil in a heavy pot over medium heat and cook the chopped onion and pepper for 10 to 12 minutes, until slumped and translucent with no crunch left. Add the garlic, cumin and oregano and fry 1 minute more, until the pot smells strongly of toasted cumin.",720,{"title":154,"text":155},"Coat the rice","Add the rinsed and drained rice and stir for 2 minutes, until every grain is slicked with the seasoned oil and looks slightly translucent at the edges. This helps the grains stay separate later.",{"title":157,"text":158},"Add broth and beans","Pour in the 750 ml of reserved bean broth, add the salt and stir once. Tip in the drained beans and level the surface. Taste the liquid now — it should be a little saltier than you want the finished rice, because the grains will absorb it all.",{"title":160,"text":161,"timerSeconds":162},"Cover and cook undisturbed","Bring to a strong boil, then lower the heat as far as it will go, cover tightly and cook for 20 minutes without lifting the lid or stirring. The rice is done when the liquid has gone and small holes have opened across the surface.",1200,{"title":164,"text":165,"timerSeconds":166},"Rest and fluff","Take the pot off the heat, sprinkle over the vinegar, replace the lid and leave it for 10 minutes. Then fluff gently with a fork, lifting from the bottom, so the grey-violet grains separate without crushing the beans.",600,{"calories":168,"protein":169,"carbs":170,"fat":171,"fiber":172,"sodium":173,"estimated":108},400,12,71,8,9,690,[175,178,180,182],{"src":176,"alt":177},"\u002Fimages\u002Frecipes\u002Fmoros-y-cristianos\u002Fhero.jpg","Bowl of Cuban moros y cristianos, grey-violet rice cooked with whole black beans",{"src":179,"alt":177},"\u002Fimages\u002Frecipes\u002Fmoros-y-cristianos\u002Fhero-16x9.jpg",{"src":181,"alt":177},"\u002Fimages\u002Frecipes\u002Fmoros-y-cristianos\u002Fhero-4x3.jpg",{"src":183,"alt":177},"\u002Fimages\u002Frecipes\u002Fmoros-y-cristianos\u002Fhero-1x1.jpg",[185,186,187,188,189,190],"moros y cristianos","congri","black beans and rice","cuban side dish","vegan rice","bean 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olives and raisins",[314,315,316,317,318,288],"picadillo","cuban ground beef","olives and raisins","sofrito","weeknight dinner",{"slug":320,"title":321,"nativeName":322,"countrySlug":8,"region":199,"baseServings":111,"prepMinutes":200,"cookMinutes":323,"difficulty":202,"course":324,"diet":325,"mainIngredients":326,"images":329,"keywords":333,"publishedAt":191,"updatedAt":191,"authorSlug":192},"cuban-ropa-vieja","Ropa Vieja (Cuban Shredded Beef in Pepper Sauce)","Ropa vieja",150,[204],[82,83],[327,96,328,117,306],"beef-chuck","tomato-paste",[330],{"src":331,"alt":332},"\u002Fimages\u002Frecipes\u002Fcuban-ropa-vieja\u002Fhero.jpg","Shredded beef ropa vieja in red pepper sauce with green olives, served over white rice",[334,335,336,317,337,338],"ropa vieja","cuban beef","shredded beef","flank steak","caribbean stew",{"slug":340,"title":341,"nativeName":342,"countrySlug":8,"region":343,"baseServings":111,"prepMinutes":73,"cookMinutes":75,"difficulty":76,"course":344,"diet":346,"mainIngredients":347,"images":350,"keywords":354,"publishedAt":191,"updatedAt":191,"authorSlug":192},"cuban-sandwich","Sandwich Cubano (Pressed Ham and Roast Pork Sandwich)","Sándwich cubano","Havana and Tampa",[345,204],"street-food",[],[255,348,349],"ham","butter",[351],{"src":352,"alt":353},"\u002Fimages\u002Frecipes\u002Fcuban-sandwich\u002Fhero.jpg","Pressed Cuban sandwich cut on the diagonal showing roast pork, ham, melted cheese and pickles",[355,356,357,358,359,360],"cuban sandwich","sandwich cubano","pressed sandwich","roast 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