Baiao de Dois - Brazilian Rice & Beans

I lived in Ceara, Brasil for 6 months as part of my gap year....more years ago than I would like to admit, one of the lasting memories from our time there is some of the food we ate & this recipe is a rice & beans dish we ate many times a week.

Ingredients:

1 onion

1 garlic clove

Drizzle of olive oil

1 cup rice

1 tbsp dried coriander

400g tin of black eyed beans

2 cups of stock

Handful of frozen peas

175g mozzarella, chopped into cubes

Method:

1. Heat the oil & gently cook the onion & garlic until soft.
2. Add the rice & coriander with another drizzle of oil & stir until the rice is transparent.
3. Add the beans, stock & peas, bring to gentle simmer & cover the pan.
4. Allow to simmer until all the stock is gone approximately 10 mins. Keep the pan covered & allow to rest for 5 mins.
5. Add the mozzarella & stir in well. 
6. Allow to melt for another 10-15 mins.

In Brazil you would eat this dish with meat, but being a veggie I would often serve some veggie sausages with it, but can be eaten as a dish in it's own right. Also nice cold as a rice salad.