Gallo Pinto (Costa Rican Rice and Beans)

About This Recipe

Gallo pinto — 'spotted rooster' — is the national breakfast of Costa Rica, eaten every morning by millions from San José office workers to Guanacaste farmhands. The dish hinges on three elements that distinguish it from its Nicaraguan cousin: small black beans (not red), the use of bean broth to color and flavor the rice, and the indispensable splash of Salsa Lizano, a sweet-tangy condiment created in 1920 that tastes like a tropical Worcestershire. The rice must be day-old and dry — fresh rice clumps and steams instead of frying — and the beans are cooked tender but whole, their broth strained and added back to dye the grains a uniform brown. A proper plate is served with two scrambled or fried eggs, fried sweet plantain (maduros), sour cream (natilla), a wedge of fresh cheese, and a corn tortilla, all washed down with strong dark coffee. Ticos eat it at home, at sodas (cheap diners), and at five-star resorts — it cuts across every class.

Ingredients

Serves 4

• 3 cupsday-old cooked white long-grain rice, cold and dry
• 1.5 cupscooked small black beans, with about 1/2 cup of their cooking broth reserved
• 3 tbspneutral oil (corn or sunflower)
• 1 smallyellow onion, finely diced
• 1 smallred bell pepper, finely diced
• 3 clovesgarlic, minced
• 3 tbspSalsa Lizano (essential — see notes)
• 0.5 tspfine salt, or to taste
• 2 tbspfinely chopped fresh culantro or cilantro
• fried eggs, to serve
• natilla (Costa Rican sour cream), to serve
• fried sweet plantain, to serve
• warm corn tortillas, to serve

Instructions

1. 1

   Sweat the sofrito

   Heat oil in a wide skillet over medium-high. Add onion and bell pepper; cook 4 minutes until softened. Add garlic and cook 30 seconds — don't let it brown.

2. 2

   Add the beans

   Stir in the cooked black beans with their reserved broth. Simmer 2 minutes — the broth should bubble and reduce slightly. This is the step that gives the rice its color.

3. 3

   Add the rice

   Tip the cold rice in and toss thoroughly to coat every grain in the bean broth. Break up any clumps with the back of a spoon. The rice should turn an even tan-brown.

   Cold rice is mandatory. Fresh rice will steam and turn to mush.

4. 4

   Fry until dry

   Continue cooking 5–7 minutes, stirring frequently. You want the rice to dry out, develop a few crispy bits at the edges, and absorb all the broth. The pan should sizzle, not bubble.

5. 5

   Hit it with Lizano

   Drizzle the Salsa Lizano over the top and toss. Taste and salt. The smell that hits you is what Costa Ricans associate with morning. Off heat, stir in chopped culantro.

6. 6

   Plate

   Mound generous scoops onto plates. Top each with two fried eggs (sunny side, yolks runny), a spoonful of natilla, a few rounds of fried sweet plantain, and a warm tortilla on the side.

Variations

• •

  Nicaraguan gallo pinto uses red beans (frijoles rojos) and skips the Lizano — substitute a dash of vinegar instead.

• •

  Caribbean-coast version (Limón) adds coconut milk to the rice and uses Scotch bonnet for heat.

• •

  Add diced bacon at step 1 for a non-traditional weekend version.

Storage

Refrigerate up to 3 days. Reheat in a dry skillet with a teaspoon of oil — never microwave (turns gummy). Doesn't freeze well; the texture goes mealy.

Frequently Asked Questions