Gallo Pinto

Do you want a little taste of Costa Rica? Here is a recipe for a typical Costa Rican dish. The recipe has been slightly altered due to the availability of the ingredients in the US. You can also play around with my recipe here to suit your own taste.

Typically served for breakfast, Gallo Pinto is a dish usually topped with a dollop of sour cream and served along with eggs and fried sweet plantains. Kids often put ketchup on it. The dish probably originated as a means of using the left over black beans and rice from the previous day. But it is definitely better with fresher ingredients.

1 cup of cooked rice
1 cup of cooked beans, drained
1 small or medium onion, chopped
1 small chopped red sweet pepper
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 tbsp of extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
4 tbsp Worcestershire sauce (typically Lizano sauce, if you have access to it, use it instead)
2 tsp black pepper (Costa Ricans generally don't use black pepper on anything, but I think it adds to the flavor of this dish, so I included it in my recipe)

Sauté the onion, red pepper, garlic, cilantro in the olive oil for a few minutes. Add in the beans, the Worcestershire, and black pepper. Cook for a few more minutes. Next, add in the cooked rice. Stir it all together, and it's ready to serve. Enjoy!