Black and Brown Rice with Black Beans

I couldn't get wild rice at a price I was willing to pay this time...

I tasted black beans for the first time on a holiday in Key West in 2001 in a wee Cuban (?) cantina off the beaten track that we'd never have found without our local hostess. Such a shame most Americans just eat and leave and don't take time to sit and chat, have a digestif, coffee, more wine, more chat...

You can either use left-over rice or boil rice from scratch. With left-over rice soak the raisins in a little hot water and add to the frying pan at the same time as the rice. If you're boiling rice scratch just cook the raisins along with it.

(serves 6 as a side dish)

1/4 mug of wild rice
1 mug of whole grain rice
2-3 tbsp raisins
extra virgin olive oil
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
1 red onion
2 large garlic cloves
1/2 - 1 sweet red chilli
1/2 ground cumin, optionally toasted and freshly ground
1 440 ml can of black beans, no salt or sugar added
2-3 tbsp toasted pumpkin seeds
fresh coriander, optional

1. Boil the rice until tender. Drain and rinse the beans.

2. Sauté the garlic, onion and chilli in olive oil for a couple of minutes, then add the cumin. Sauté for a further minute, then add the rice, the beans and the raisins including the liquor. Season with pepper and salt and heat through. Mix in the pumpkin seeds and chopped coriander. Tastes lovely hot or cold.