Black Beans and Potato, Brown Rice (No Added Fat)

Ingredients

• 1 cup black beans, rinsed then soaked (overnight or, as I did, for about 5 hours starting with boiling water) and rinsed again
• Enough water to just cover beans plus 1/4"
• Medium Yukon Gold (or other type) potato cut into 1/2" or 5/8" cubes (about a cup)
• 2 cloves garlic, finely (approx. 1/8") chopped
• Vegan bouillon cube
• 1/3 cups onion cut into 3/8" cubes
• 2t lemon or lime juice
• 1/4 t salt
• 3/4 t dried oregano

Process

1. I put the beans, water, potato, garlic, and bouillon cube into my Instant Pot pressure cooker and cooked for 30m. Soaked black beans can cook in 25m, but I decided to go with 30m to be sure that they were soft.
2. After the cooking was done, I waited a few minutes and gently released pressure, then mixed in the onion, lime juice, salt, and oregano. I intended this dish to have a strong presence with the oregano.

I also made brown rice (long-grained, as usual) by putting 1/2 cup rice and 2 1/2 times (1 1/4 cups) water, plus a pinch of salt and a vegan bouillon cube in a pan, bringing it to a boil then, covered, simmering for 45m.

Results

Dinner was good and an interesting variation from simple classic beans and rice. I like the potato-bean combination, and like the simplicity. Recently, I seem to be favoring less ingredients for a simpler taste. The pronounced oregano flavor was good. I'll have to make this for my family when they return.

Ideas for the future

Adding a bit of greens would be good, but then I will be returning to similar dishes I've made in the past. A little nutritional yeast would be good but also can be skipped in the name of a simple dish.