Pinto Gallo

I love this recipe! It is really fast if you have leftover rice already made up and it tastes fantastic. I adapted this from a McDougall recipe. It was one of those recipes that sounded bland and boring but I had all the ingredients so I gave it a try. I immediately got on the Internet and e-mailed this to several people after making it the first time, it was that good!

It seems like every time I make it, I add one more ingredient to it so that it now barely resembles the original.

For the cilantro and ginger, I use the herbs in squeeze tubes that look like this:


I love these things. I have almost every type offered!

Pinto Gallo

Make rice. (For our rice steamer I used 1 cup Jasmine rice and 1 1/2 cups water).

Put 1/4 cup vegetable broth in a large skillet. Add one small onion and one red bell pepper, both chopped. Cook over medium high heat, stirring frequently until the broth is mostly absorbed. Add 1/4 cup more broth and 2 cloves of garlic, chopped. Cook again until the broth is absorbed.

Add 1 tsp cumin, 1 tablespoon fresh cilantro (or 1 tsp dried), and 1/2 tablespoon fresh grated ginger (or 1/2 tsp ground). Cook for 2 minutes. Add about 3/4 cup of corn (can or frozen) and one can of pinto beans, drained. Cook until heated through.

Add 3 cups of cooked rice to the mixture. Pepper to taste. Mix well.

Serve with salsa and chips.

Kay: I don't like my foods mixed together like this. This is ok but I'd rather have corn, rice, and beans separate. I like that we eat it on chips though!

Mom (Dana): This warms up really well. The recipe is very versatile and you could add just about any beans and vegetables that you like. Lime salsa is especially good with it.