Costa Rican Rice & Beans: Gallo Pinto

Rice was taken to Central and South America centuries ago by the Spanish,* who had gotten it from Arab and Berber sources during the gradual conquest of large parts of Spain by these people, often called "Moors." The Arabs and Berbers had gotten rice from Asians. Rice and bean combinations are common throughout Central and South America, as well as on many of the islands of the Caribbean, and each area has its own recipe, sometimes involving the type of beans used or the kinds of seasonings added for flavoring.  "Gallo Pinto" is the name of the recipe variety used in Costa Rica, as well as in Nicaragua and Panama, where red beans are used in the latter two nations. The name means "spotted rooster," seemingly from the spotted look of the mixture of the beans with the rice. It is one of the national dishes of Costa Rica, although there are a variety of recipes for "Gallo Pinto," including some that use red beans in parts of that country too. 

Cook the white rice per the instructions on the package of the brand you use. It is best if you cook the rice first and then let it cool while you prepare the other ingredients. The cooled rice grains should separate more easily. You can even prepare the rice hours ahead, or even the day before, and then refrigerate it, as the chilled rice grains will definitely separate more easily. I've listed red bell pepper in the ingredients, but you can use any mild red pepper. This is not a spicy hot dish. The "Salsa Lizano" is what really makes this "Gallo Pinto" recipe Costa Rican. The commercially produced brand of "Salsa Lizano" I have is grayish or brownish in color, with a tart and "mustardy" taste ('mustard flour,' presumably ground mustard, is listed as one of its ingredients). Salsa Lizano is available in bottles at some American supermarkets or Latino markets. It is easy to make at home, although homemade varieties will likely have a somewhat different color and taste. You can make it as tart or as sweet as you like. Here is the link to the recipe:  https://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2020/01/costa-rican-table-sauce-salsa-lizano.html
I used half commercially produced and half homemade Salsa Lizano in the recipe the second time I made Gallo Pinto. There wasn't a huge difference in taste, but some. You can use dried black beans, soak them and then cook them, or you can use canned black beans drained, but keep about 1/3 cup of the liquid for use in the dish. 

Ingredients:

3 cups canned black beans, along with 1/3 cup of the liquid
1/3 cup onion, finely chopped
3 cloves minced garlic
2/3 cup chopped red bell pepper
5 tablespoons Salsa Lizano
2 1/2 to 3 cups cooked white rice, preferably well cooled or even chilled
3 tablespoons regular olive oil
1 "good" pinch of salt
4 tablespoons chopped cilantro

In a skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and the red pepper; cook for about 2 to 3 minutes, then add the garlic. Let the onion and red pepper soften. Add the cooked beans (with the 1/3 cup liquid), Salsa Lizano and cooked rice (I refrigerate the rice well ahead of time, then I use my hands to add the rice to the skillet, using my fingers to break up any clumps of rice.) Add the chopped cilantro and salt and mix everything together well. Let the mixture heat through. You can certainly sprinkle more chopped cilantro on top to garnish the Gallo Pinto.

* The Portuguese took rice to Brazil, long a colony of Portugal. 

Gallo Pinto served with a salad for a light lunch ...

A commercial brand of Salsa Lizano from Costa Rica

Gallo Pinto is often served with a fried egg or two ...

WORD HISTORY:
Parochial (Parish)-These are really compounds, with the second part of the words being distantly related to "village," a Latin-derived word borrowed by English from Latin-based French, and to the "wick" part of names like "Brunswick" and "Gatwick," from the Germanic roots of English, but borrowed into Germanic from Latin. The first part goes back to Indo European "per/preh," which meant, "before, in front." This gave transliterated Ancient Greek "para," meaning, "near, nearby, beside." ^ The second part goes back to Indo European "weik," (seemingly meaning?) "settlement, place to dwell." This gave transliterated Ancient Greek "oikos," meaning, "dwelling place, house, hall."These parts gave transliterated Ancient Greek "pároikos," meaning, "neighboring residence," but also, "temporary residence of travelers, often of foreigners." This produced Greek "păroikĭ́ā," meaning in religious context, "diocese/parish." This was borrowed by Latin as "parochia," meaning, "(a) parish," and this passed into Latin-based Old French as "paroisse," and this was taken to England by the Normans (as "parosse?"), which eventually became "paroche." English borrowed the word as "parisshe/parishe," before the modern spelling and with the meaning, 1) "an administrative part of a diocese which has its own church;" 2) the churchgoers and community of members of a parish church who are collectively called "parishioners." Latin "parochia" spawned the adjective "parochialis," meaning, "of, about or pertaining to a parish." This passed into Old French as "parochial" (also as  "parochiel?") and English borrowed the word circa 1400.      

^ Besides meaning "near, nearby, beside," it also meant, "taken from, derived from, near to (in the sense, 'opposite to');" thus also, "against, contrary to." 

Costa Rican Table Sauce: Salsa Lizano

This is a common brown to reddish brown sauce in Costa Rica and it's made at home by some, but it is also commercially produced and sold in bottles. It is sprinkled onto various foods and it is also used in recipes, especially in Costa Rican style rice and beans, called "Gallo Pinto" (I'll be doing this soon). It is not very spicy hot, although I like to add a hot dried red chili to the recipe for a little "zip."

The ingredients will be processed/blended, so how you chop them is not all that important.

Ingredients:

3 Guajillo or Ancho (dried Poblano) chilies, seeded and stems removed
(optional) 1 dried hot red chili 
1/4 cup onion, chopped
1/2 cup carrot, peeled and chopped
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon white vinegar
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon molasses
1 cup water to cook the chilies, then used in the sauce
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 heaping teaspoon ground black pepper
2 teaspoons salt

Simmer the chilies in a cup of water for 6 or 8 minutes. Add the chilies and water to a blender or processor. Add the other ingredients and blend or process until smooth

WORD HISTORY:
Peon-This word is related to "pedestrian," a Latin derived word borrowed by English, and it is distantly related, through Indo European, to "foot," a word from the Germanic roots of English. It goes back to Indo European "ped/pod," which meant "foot, lower part of the leg." This gave Latin "pes," meaning "foot," with the accusative case being "pedem," and the dative being "pedi," and all plural cases beginning with "ped." This produced Latin "pedonem" meaning, "one who goes on foot," which in the Middle Ages took on the specific meaning, "foot soldier." This gave Portuguese "peon," which later became "peão," with the "foot soldier" meaning. The Portuguese and the English established themselves in India, and in the 1600s, English borrowed the word from Portuguese, but in India, and it meant (specific to India), "a native Indian member of law enforcement," but also "foot soldier" and "one who delivers messages on foot." Meanwhile, Spanish had "peon" from the same Latin source as Portuguese, but it had taken the meaning, "worker." By the first half of the 1800s, American English had picked up the meaning "farm worker working off a debt to a landowner" from Mexican Spanish, and this became the prime meaning in American English, with further development into, "low status worker" (from the idea of working low level jobs to pay debt). This became the main meaning in English.