Costa Rican Casado with Cashew “Cheese”
Casado is a traditional meal from Costa Rica often combining rice, black beans
Recipe from the Blue Zones® Meal Planner.
Yield: 2 servings
Ingredients
⅔ cup brown rice
3 tablespoons water
1 red pepper
1 ½ cups no-salt canned black beans
2 pinches salt
⅓ cup unsalted cashews
1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
2 pinches garlic powder
2 pinches cumin
2 pinches salt-free chili powder
2 pinches paprika
6 cups mixed greens
½ lime
1 avocado
1 tablespoon chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, optional
Directions
- Cook the rice. Add the dry rice to a pot. You will need 2.5 times as much water as rice. Add water to the pot, cover, and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 35-45 minutes or until the water is absorbed and the rice is soft. Check on the rice periodically to prevent any sticking or burning on the bottom. Remove from the heat, fluff with a fork, and enjoy! Looking for a faster option? Cook in a rice cooker or just use pre-cooked/frozen rice.
- Rinse the red pepper, remove stem and seeds, and slice into strips. Drain and rinse the no-salt canned beans. Heat the beans in a saucepan on the stove over low-medium heat or in the microwave.
- In a high-speed blender, combine unsalted cashews, nutritional yeast, salt, garlic powder, cumin, chili powder, paprika, chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, and water. Blend until completely smooth, streaming in more water as needed to reach desired consistency.
- Arrange cooked brown rice, warmed beans, and mixed greens on a plate. Top mixed greens with sliced red peppers and a squeeze of lime. Drizzle cashew “cheese” over rice and beans.
