Spanish Rice and Kidney Beans
Paprika rice with beans and olives, brightened with lemon at the end.
- calories
- 520
- weight
- 5.5 oz
- cal / oz
- 95
- protein
- 15 g
- serves
- 2, scales
- prep
- 5 min
- cook
- 30 min
- total time
- 35 min
- water
- 700 ml boiled
- cost
- $
Calorie and protein figures are my own estimates, good enough for planning a food bag and not meant as precise nutrition data.
- Dinner
- Canister stove
- Liquid fuel
- Campfire coals
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Canoe / raft
- Vegetarian
- Vegan
- Dairy free
- Gluten free
- Nut free
- One pot
- Pre-mix at home
- Shelf stable
- Basic
Ingredients
| White or basmati rice | 1 cup | |
|---|---|---|
| Dried kidney beans, cooked and dehydrated | 1 cup | instant refried bean flakes work if you cannot dehydrate |
| Olive oil | 2 tbsp | dropper bottle |
| Dried onion flakes | 2 tbsp | |
| Garlic powder | 1 tsp | |
| Paprika | 1 tsp | smoked if you have it |
| Chili powder | 1/2 tsp | |
| Dried oregano | 1/2 tsp | |
| Salt | 3/4 tsp | |
| Black pepper | 1/4 tsp | |
| Sun-dried tomatoes | 1/3 cup | chopped small, stands in for the can of fire-roasted |
| Vegetable bouillon | 2 cubes | |
| Green olives | 1/4 cup | drained from a pouch, or dried olive slices |
| Dried parsley | 1 tbsp | |
| Lemon juice powder | 1 tsp | or one lemon wedge if you are car camping |
Method
- Heat 1 tbsp of the oil in the pot. Add the onion flakes, garlic powder, paprika, chili powder, oregano, salt, and pepper. Stir for thirty seconds, until the spices smell like something.
- Pour in 700 ml of water, the bouillon, and the sun-dried tomatoes. Bring it to a boil.
- Add the rice and the dried beans. Stir once, cover, and drop the flame as low as it will go.
- Simmer 18 to 20 minutes without lifting the lid. Pull it off the heat and let it sit covered for another 5.
- Stir in the olives, parsley, lemon juice powder, and the last tablespoon of oil. Taste and add salt.
The original is a stovetop pilaf built on fresh onion, canned beans, canned tomatoes, and chicken broth. None of that travels. Dried onion and garlic powder replace the aromatics, sun-dried tomatoes replace the can and rehydrate in the cooking liquid anyway, and bouillon replaces the broth. Home-dehydrated cooked kidney beans weigh a fifth of what the cans do and come back in the same twenty minutes the rice needs.
The lemon and olives are what keep this from being another beige rice dinner, so add them off the heat. Cooked in, the acid goes flat and the olives turn to mush. The rice needs a real simmer with a lid, not a rolling boil, so this wants a stove you can throttle or a bed of coals rather than open flame.
Packing
Rice and beans in one bag, spices and bouillon and tomatoes in a second small bag, olives in their pouch. Oil in a leakproof bottle inside a ziplock.
Variations
- A foil packet of chicken stirred in at the end pushes protein past 30 g, but drops the vegan tag.
- Swap the last of the water for a splash from a tomato pouch if you are car camping and weight is free.
https://mealswithmaria.site/spanish-inspired-kidney-beans-recipe