Beef and Black Bean Rice Skillet
A one-pan Mexican-inspired rice pilaf with browned beef mince, sweetcorn and black beans cooked right into the tomato-seasoned grains, finished with melted cheddar.
- Total
- 50 min
- Prep 10 · Cook 35 · Rest 5
- Serves
- 1
- Difficulty
- Easy
You'll practice: Searing · Absorption rice
- Savory
- Mexican
- Stovetop
- One pan
Instructions
-
Dice the onion into 5 mm pieces. Grate the cheddar and set it aside. Drain the black beans and the sweetcorn well in a colander.
~8 min
-
Heat the oil in the skillet over medium-high heat. Add the beef mince and cook for 6 to 8 minutes, breaking it up with the spoon, until it is browned and no pink remains. Season with the salt and black pepper.
~8 min
Browning the beef in a hot pan triggers the Maillard reaction, building deep savoury flavour that stewing raw mince would never develop.
Let the beef brown undisturbed for the first 2 minutes before breaking it up, so it develops a crust instead of steaming.
Searing Pat the mince dry, spread it in one layer and leave it untouched for two minutes before breaking it up; crowding or stirring early steams the meat grey instead of browning it.
-
Spoon the browned beef onto a plate and set aside. Add the onion to the same skillet and cook for 5 minutes until softened and lightly golden.
~5 min
Cooking the onion in the beef fat and browned bits dissolves that fond, so none of the flavour is left stuck to the pan.
-
Stir the taco seasoning into the onion and cook for 30 seconds until fragrant. Add the rice and stir for 1 minute so every grain is coated in the seasoned fat.
~1 min
Toasting the taco spices in hot fat blooms their fat-soluble aromatics, making them taste fuller than if added with liquid.
-
Pour in the 600 ml water and stir once. Bring to a simmer, cover, and cook on low for 15 minutes until most of the liquid is absorbed.
~15 min
Simmering covered lets the rice absorb the seasoned liquid evenly, while too much stirring would release starch and make it gluey.
Absorption rice Keep the pan covered and resist stirring so steam cooks each grain evenly; if the rice is still firm when the liquid is gone, add a splash of hot water and steam off the heat.
-
Scatter the black beans and sweetcorn over the rice, cover, and cook for 5 more minutes until the rice is tender and the liquid is absorbed.
~5 min
If the rice is still firm when the liquid is gone, add 2 tbsp hot water, cover, and steam off the heat for 5 minutes.
Absorption rice Keep the pan covered and resist stirring so steam cooks each grain evenly; if the rice is still firm when the liquid is gone, add a splash of hot water and steam off the heat.
-
Return the beef to the skillet and fold it through. Scatter the cheddar over the top, cover, and cook for 2 minutes until the cheese melts. Take the pan off the heat and let it stand for 5 minutes before serving.
~7 min
Covering off the heat traps steam that melts the cheddar and lets the rice finish absorbing any remaining liquid.