Gallo Pinto (Costa Rican Black Beans & Rice)

About This Recipe

Gallo Pinto — "spotted rooster" — is the rice-and-beans breakfast that Costa Ricans (and Nicaraguans, with whom they argue about origins) eat almost every morning of their lives. The technique is genius in its simplicity: leftover rice and slow-cooked black beans are stirred together in a hot pan with sautéed onion, sweet pepper, garlic, and the unmistakable green Salsa Lizano — a Worcestershire-adjacent vegetable-and-tamarind sauce that is to Costa Rica what soy sauce is to Japan. The beans color the rice with their own black ink, leaving the grains "speckled like a rooster." Served with fried plantain, scrambled eggs, fresh white cheese, sour cream, and a strong black coffee, it is the breakfast that gets every Tico through the day. Costa Ricans believe deeply that gallo pinto is healthier and more energy-sustaining than any Western breakfast — and they are not wrong.

Ingredients

Serves 4

• 500 gcooked white rice (preferably day-old, cold)
• 400 gcooked black beans, with about 80 ml of their cooking liquid
• 3 tbspvegetable oil
• 1 mediumwhite onion, finely diced
• 1red bell pepper, finely diced
• 3 clovesgarlic, minced
• 3 tbspSalsa Lizano (or substitute: 2 tbsp Worcestershire + 1 tbsp HP sauce)
• 1 tspground cumin
• 1 tspfine salt, plus more to taste
• 20 gfresh cilantro, chopped
• 1ripe plantain, peeled and sliced on the diagonal (for serving)
• 4 largeeggs (for serving)

Instructions

1. 1

   Heat the pan

   Heat 2 tbsp oil in a wide, heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion and red pepper and cook 5 minutes until soft and lightly golden at the edges.

2. 2

   Add aromatics

   Stir in the garlic and cumin. Cook 45 seconds until fragrant — do not let the garlic brown.

3. 3

   Add the beans

   Add the black beans with their cooking liquid and the Salsa Lizano. Cook 3 minutes, mashing about a quarter of the beans gently with the back of your spoon to thicken the mixture into a wet, glossy ragu.

   The bean liquid is where the color comes from. Drained beans give you a brown, dry pinto — keep that splash of broth.

4. 4

   Add the rice

   Add the cold rice. Stir gently to coat every grain in the dark bean liquid. Cook 4 minutes, stirring once or twice, until the rice is hot through and clearly speckled black and white.

5. 5

   Finish

   Taste and adjust salt — Salsa Lizano is already salty so be cautious. Stir in three-quarters of the cilantro.

6. 6

   Fry the plantain

   In a separate pan heat the remaining 1 tbsp oil and fry the plantain slices 2 minutes per side until deeply golden and caramelized at the edges.

7. 7

   Fry the eggs

   In the same pan fry the eggs sunny-side up, until the whites are set but the yolks runny.

8. 8

   Plate

   Mound gallo pinto on each plate. Add 1 egg, a couple of plantain slices, a wedge of fresh cheese if you have it, and a dollop of sour cream. Scatter remaining cilantro on top.

Variations

• •

  Nicaraguan-style: use red beans instead of black, mash more, skip the Salsa Lizano.

• •

  Vegan: skip the eggs and sour cream; serve with extra plantain and avocado.

• •

  Add a handful of natilla (sour cream) stirred in at the end for a richer family breakfast version.

Storage

Refrigerates 3 days; reheat with a splash of water in a hot pan to revive. Don't microwave — the rice turns rubbery. Freezes 1 month but the texture is best fresh.

Frequently Asked Questions