Gallo Pinto

This dish is served everywhere in Nicaragua, as a side dish or main dish, often with corn tortillas and boiled or fried plantains. It is part of breakfast, lunch, and/or dinner!

• 2 cups cooked long-grain rice
• 1 cup red beans
• 1/2 cup of finely diced white onion
• 3 teaspoons vegetable oil
• salt
• sour cream

Place vegetable oil on a frying pan and heat for approximately 1 minute. Saute onions until caramelized. Add entire pot of cooked beans and its gravy into the sautéed onions. Stir over low-medium heat for a minute. Add cooked rice to sautéed bean mixture, mix well and simmer for 5 minutes. Add salt to taste. Serve immediately, topped with sour cream if desired.

Variations: Can substitute canned red or black beans, undrained. The recipe I used called for 2T chopped cilantro, added with the salt (but I am not a fan of cilantro, and I don’t remember Liz or Eli using it in Nicaragua). To be authentic don’t skimp on the salt. Other versions of this recipe added chopped red or green pepper and garlic with the onion for more zip.

The name of the dish translates to "speckled rooster," a reference to the look of the dish rather than its contents.