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This is my mom's Congri Recipe, it's white rice cooked with black beans and bacon. It makes for the perfect side dish to any Cuban meal or great on its own
This recipe is made using dry beans and is considered "old school" instead of using canned beans. This dish is a Noche Buena staple.
The older I get, the more I realize I need to start learning my mom's recipes so I can someday pass them onto my son. So you can get used to more of my family's recipes posted onto my blog.
Is it Moros or is it Congri?
Much like the pop vs soda debate in the US, depending on what part of Cuba you're from dictates what you call this dish. I grew knowing it as Congri, however many people refer to this dish as Moros y Cristianos (moros for short) For the sake of avoiding snarky comments, I'll use the term congri and moros interchangeably throughout this post.
What do you serve congri with?
Congri is the perfect side dish to any cuban protein such as vaca frita, bistec de pollo or even lechon.
Equipment
For this recipe you'll need a casuela and a food processor.
Ingredients
| Dry black beans Salt Bay Leaves Bacon Yellow Onions Green bell pepper Garlic | Red pepper Black pepper Cumin Long grain rice Bean broth Olive oil Sazon completa |
Instructions
Rinse the beans and place them in a casuela or dutch oven along with 8 cups water, 1 teaspoon of salt and the 2 bay leaves. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a low simmer, partly cover and cook until tender, about 1 to 2 hours.
Make your sofrito. Place the onion, garlic and green pepper into your food processor. Pulse until you reach your desired size. I personally hate giant chunks of green pepper and onion in my Congri, so I let the food processor run until they're minced.
In a large frying pan add your sliced bacon, onion, garlic and green pepper. cook on medium-high heat until your veggies and bacon are completely cooked through.
Drain the beans, reserving 3 cups of the broth or "black water" and being careful to not break apart the beans. Leave the cooked black beans in your casuela.
Add to the casuela the olive oil, rinsed rice, red pepper, black pepper, Sazon completa, cumin, sofrito, "black water" and 1 ½ teaspoon of salt.
Bring to a boil, stir, then reduce heat to low, cover and cook for about 20 -25 minutes until rice is cooked through.
Variations
- Vegetarian/vegan Congri, looking for a meatless option to this rice? Omit the bacon and adjust the salt to your preference and viola! Vegan/Vegetarian Congri
- Don't own a food processor? Chop your onion, garlic and bell pepper as big or as small as your prefer
Storage
To store your moros rice, place it in an airtight container and refrigerate. The congri will keep in the fridge for 3-4 days.
Check out these other Cuban recipes
- Cuban Vaca Frita Recipe
- Cuban bistec de pollo a la plancha
- Papi's Cuban Mojo Lechon Recipe
- Bistec De Palomilla
Print Recipe
4.86 from 7 votes
Mami's Cuban Congri Recipe!
Cuban Congri, black beans cooked with white rice and bacon
Prep Time15 minutes mins
Cook Time2 hours hrs 30 minutes mins
Total Time2 hours hrs 45 minutes mins
Course: Side Dish
Cuisine: cuban
Servings: 8
Calories: 446kcal
Author: Cari
Ingredients
- 14 oz. package of dry black beans
- 2.5 teaspoon of salt adjust to taste
- 2 Bay Leaves
- 6 Slices of thick cut bacon cut into ½ inch pieces
- 1 Medium sized yellow onion chopped
- 1 Large green pepper chopped
- 5 Large cloves of garlic minced
- ¼ teaspoon of red pepper optional
- ½ teaspoon of black pepper
- 1.5 teaspoon of cumin
- 2 Cups of long grain rice
- 3 Cups of "black water" water the beans soaked in overnight
- 1 tablespoon of olive oil
- ½ tablespoon Sazon completa
Instructions
Rinse the beans and place them in a caldero along with 8 cups water, 1 teaspoon of salt and the 2 bay leaves. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a low simmer, partly cover and cook until tender, about 1 to 2 hours.
Meanwhile, make your sofrito. Place the onion, garlic and green pepper into your food processor. Pulse until you reach your desired size. I personally hate giant chunks of green pepper and onion in my Congri, so I let the food processor run until they're minced.
In a large frying pan add your sliced bacon, onion, garlic and green pepper. cook on medium-high heat until your veggies and bacon are completely cooked through.
Drain the beans, reserving 3 cups of the broth or "black water" and being careful to not break apart the beans. Leave the cooked black beans in your caldero.
Grab your rice and rinse it.To rinse, place the rice in a large bowl, cover with water and swirl around. The water will get cloudy. Pour out the cloudy water, use a strainer to keep the rice from making a giant mess. Repeat until the water is clear.
Add to the caldero the olive oil, rinsed rice, red pepper, black pepper, Sazon completa, cumin, sofrito, "black water" and 1 ½ teaspoon of salt.Bring to a boil, stir, then reduce heat to low, cover and cook for about 20 -25 minutes.
Stir occasionally with a wooden spoon. Once the rice is tender, you're ready to eat!
Notes
- Looking for a meatless option to this rice? Omit the bacon and adjust the salt to your preference and viola! Vegan/Vegetarian Congri
- Don't own a food processor? Chop your onion, garlic and bell pepper as big or as small as your prefer
- To store your moros rice, place it in an airtight container and refrigerate. The congri will keep in the fridge for 3-4 days.
Nutrition
Serving: 1cup | Calories: 446kcal | Carbohydrates: 73g | Protein: 17g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 11mg | Sodium: 116mg | Potassium: 930mg | Fiber: 9g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 78IU | Vitamin C: 14mg | Calcium: 88mg | Iron: 3mg
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