Rice and beans are popular throughout Central America, but in this Costa Rican recipe they get a little bit dressed up. There are hundreds of different versions of Gallo Pinto, Costa Rica's national dish; mine is a combination of a few that I found. The recipe below should serve 4 as a main dish, considerably more as a side. This dish is also commonly served for breakfast. I served it for dinner, accompanied by Fried Plantains.

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Gallo Pinto Ingredients 1 Tbsp. oil 1/2 a small onion, chopped 2 garlic cloves, chopped 1/2 small red bell pepper, chopped (optional) 1 can black beans 1 1/2 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce 1 tsp. ground cumin 4 cups cooked white rice Instructions Heat the oil over medium heat in a large saute pan. Add the onion, garlic and bell pepper, if using, and saute until the vegetables start to brown, stirring to avoid them getting burnt. Add the black beans, including the liquid they come in and stir. Add the Worcestershire sauce and the cumin and stir again. Add the rice and cook until it's warms, about 5 minutes.

Adapted from several recipes.