This colorful side dish–tossed with red and yellow bell peppers, pineapple, and cilantro–draws on flavors from Cuban cuisine.

Makes 16 servings.

1 cup dry black beans

Rice:
1 tablespoon water
1 1/4 cups chopped onion
1 cup chopped celery
1 1/2 tablespoons minced
seeded jalapeno pepper
3/4 teaspoon salt
4 cloves garlic, chopped
2 bay leaves
1 1/2 cups uncooked basmati rice
3 1/2 cups water

Remaining ingredients:
1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper
1/2 cup chopped yellow bell pepper
3/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
2 cups diced pineapple
1/4 cup minced fresh cilantro

1 Sort and wash beans, and place in a medium saucepan. Cover with water to 2 inches above beans; bring to a boil, and cook for 2 minutes. Remove from heat; cover and let stand 1 hour. Drain beans, and return to pan. Cover beans with 2 inches of water. Bring beans to a boil over
medium-high heat. Reduce heat, and simmer for 11/2 hours or until tender. Drain beans, and set aside.

2 To prepare rice, heat 1 tbsp. water in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until hot. Add onion, celery, jalapeno, salt, garlic, and bay leaves; saute 4 minutes. Add rice; cook 1 minute. Add 31/2 cups water; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes. Add beans; cover, and simmer 12 minutes, stirring occasionally. Discard bay leaves.

3 Stir in the bell peppers, black pepper, cumin, and coriander, and cook 6 minutes. Stir in pineapple and cilantro; cook 2 minutes.

Adapted from a recipe at Allrecipes.com.

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