Black Beans and Rice with Mangoes

I made this for dinner tonight, and I was surprised and happy with how well it turned out. I'm a wimp when it comes to spicy heat, and this was just spicy enough for me. I found the recipe online and changed it only slightly. Here it is:

Black Beans and Rice with Mangoes
Serves 4-6

• 1 T olive oil
• 1 small onion, finely chopped [I used frozen onion]
• 1/2 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped [I used a mix of frozen yellow and red bell peppers]
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 jalapeno, seeded and minced [I used canned chopped jalapenos and eyeballed the amount]
• 1 tsp fresh ginger, peeled and minced
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin [I skipped this because I hate cumin]
• 1/2 tsp ground allspice
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• 2-15.5 oz cans of black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 c water
• 1 tsp light brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper, freshly ground
• 3 c cooked brown rice [I used Uncle Ben's whole grain brown rice]
• 2 ripe mangoes, medium sized, peeled and diced [Again, I used frozen and just eyeballed it. I needed to chop them smaller once they thawed.]

1. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion, bell pepper, garlic, and jalapeno; cover and cook 5 min or until softened.
2. Add in seasonings, mix well, and cook for about 1 min.
3. Transfer mixture to a 3-4 quart slow cooker.
4. Add beans, water, brown sugar, salt, and pepper. Stir well.
5. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours.
6. Cook rice according to package directions. Then add the rice and mangoes to the slow cooker. Allow everything to cook for another 10-15 min. Serve.

Next time, I might use peaches or pineapple instead of the mango. Right now mangoes are out of season and therefore expensive, plus I have a hard time telling when they're ripe. The problem with the frozen ones is that the company seems to have had trouble telling when they were ripe too. Under-ripe mangoes have a weird undertaste (which I noticed in a couple bites of this dish). Ugh.

I think this is supposed to be a pseudo-Cuban dish, and I don't think sour cream is authentically Cuban, but I served it alongside the rice and beans anyway. The dish is vegan unless you use sour cream! I'd definitely make this again. It was filling, unique, and quite tasty. Enjoy!