Belizean Food Recipes

These Belizean recipes were compiled by a former expat living in Belize. They are quick and easy.

Belizean Stew Beans

Fresh Red Kidney beans
Oil – For best results use Coconut Oil.
1/2 Onion
1/2 Tsp Black Pepper
* If the beans float, they’re not totally fresh!
Clean the beans and cover with two inches of water. Boil an hour. Add Onion, Pepper, and Oil. Simmer until tender, adding water as required to keep the beans well covered.

Tip:
Soak the beans overnight, or bring water to a boil, turn off the stove and let the beans sit for an hour. Discard that soaking water and wash beans thoroughly. Heat pot, coat the bottom of the pan with a little oil, and refill with water. (The oil helps to prevent sticking. )

In addition to onion, add 1/4 to 1/2 diced small green pepper. Add 1 TBSP Chili Powder (Gebharts, if possible) Optionally, add 2 TBSP Tomato Paste. Add 2 Tsp chicken granules. (All of this adds lots of flavor and body to the beans.). Cook the beans until really soft. Turn off the fire, cover and let stand for an hour. In the tropics, the beans will continue to cook!

For Refried Beans: Coat the inside of an iron skillet or aluminum roaster with coconut oil. Add beans and cook until the mix begins to thicken. Smash up the beans with a potato masher, or in a blender / food processor. Add 1 can Salsa Casera, and continue to cook until the beans thicken to the right consistency.

NOTE: If you pour off the water on BLACK BEANS (Frijoles Negros) you will pour off most of the colour!! Don’t do that. Keep the water. Also, don’t put green pepper or tomato paste in black beans! If you have Apasote (a local herb), add this. It will make the beans taste better and have less gas.

Belizean Stew Beans and Rice

Belizean Beans and Rice are simply that. Beans, served over White Rice. Here’s a foolproof recipe for white rice.

White Rice
1 Cup Rice
1 1/2 Cups Water

Add the rice to the water and bring to a hard boil. Turn down to a gentle boil and PAY ATTENTION. The water will cook down until it disappears in the holes in the rice. (The water will be about 1/4″ below the surface of the rice. If it’s lower than that, add a little water.) Turn the flame down as low as possible (I use a comal –a big aluminum disk– to cut the heat even more) and cover the pot. Cook, without looking, for 20 minutes. Turn off the fire. The rice can stand for up to 15 minutes more before serving. Serves 3.

Tip: As soon as you’ve served all the rice, run cold water in the pan. It will lift the stuck rice right off the bottom!

Belizean Stew Chicken

One chicken, whole or cut up
1 Packet (1 Tbsp) Chicken Granules
2 TBSP chopped Onion OR MORE!!
1 Ball Red Recado

Newer. If it’s cut up, pepper the chicken well and brown it in some oil. Take out the pieces and brown the onion. Make broth with the granules, add it to everything, and bring to a boil. In a little dish, dissolve the recado. (CAUTION: This will stain your clothes, fingers, towels, etc.] Use your fingers to work it into a paste or soup. It will wash off your fingers eventually. Add recado and cook chicken until it’s starting to fall of the bones. Use in other recipes or serve bones and all.

Tips: When the chicken is done, but not off the bones, separate the chicken meat from the bones, skin, and feet. Use the meat for Taquitos and other dishes.

Conch Fritters

These are a lot easier to make if you have a food processor If you have one of those, you just put the conch in and it beats it to smithereens. Without it, you have to lots of pounding and cutting, to get the conch to be tender. (Conch tastes like abalone, but it’s a lot tougher!!) Here’s the combination, courtesy of the Hospital Auxiliary Cook Book.