Moros y Cristianos (Cuban Black Beans and Rice)

I have received a request for a vegetarian entree recipe (Hi Marian!), and this is also a good Lenten Friday supper dish. The name -- Moors and Christians -- reflects the Spanish heritage of the dish, referring to the black beans and white rice.

This is another dish introduced to me by my cousin Mary Hobart. She always used the recipe on the label of the canned Goya black beans, with a few changes. But when I checked the Goya web site, I found the recipe there to be slightly different. The following is the version I've made before -- I know that it's good. But I include afterward the web site ingredients in case you'd like to try them.

A crisp green salad and French bread are good with this.

Black Beans and Rice

2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup onion finely chopped
1/4 cup green pepper (or any combination of green, red, and yellow peppers), chopped
2 cloves garlic minced
1 can of black beans, with liquid (or canned organic vegetarian black beans)
1 teaspoon oregano
3/4 cup water, orange juice, white wine, cider vinegar, or Rum (I like the orange juice with a little water)
1 Bay leaf
chopped parsley or cilantro

Heat oil in a saucepan over medium heat.  Add onion, pepper(s), and garlic. Cook until tender -- about 8 to 10 minutes. Add remaining ingredients (except parsley/cilantro), stir, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 30 minutes to one hour, adding more liquid if needed.
Remove bay leaf and serve over hot white rice, topped with chopped parsley or cilantro.

The Goya web site adds "Sazon Goya" -- packaged seasoning I'm not familiar with -- and Adobo sauce, which is good though I've never tried it with this. It also omits the bell peppers, which I really like. One version also adds uncooked rice and two cups water at the same time the beans are added and directs to simmered covered for 25 minutes and allow to stand for 5 minutes, then drizzle each serving with olive oil. I'm sure cooking the rice with the beans gives more flavor to the rice, but I like having the leftover beans separate to munch on as a snack!