Having grown up in Venezuela, some of my most treasured culinary memories center around one of the most indispensable items in a Latin kitchen: the caldero. The caldero is the ideal pot for everything from soup to stew to rice and beans. A really good caldero is worth its weight in gold—which is why so many families pass theirs down for generations. IMUSA knows this well, setting the standard for quality and durability—so I jumped at the chance to develop a simple, delicious rice and beans recipe to get you started on your fabulous caldero career.
Calderos come in several sizes and styles, and IMUSA graciously sent me more than ten different options with which to experiment. The traditionalist in me gravitated toward the cast aluminum, which “seasons” with use (like a cast iron skillet), while the realist in me opted for the largest size—because I never lack for friends willing to drop by to taste-test (translation: gorge on) one of my Latin-inspired concoctions.
After a recent trip to the Caribbean I fell in love with one of the tastiest local culinary customs: rice and beans made with coconut milk. Each sweet, silky bite of that rice is pure heaven in my mouth. But I, for one, just can’t imagine eternity without my beloved bacon. So I set out to marry these two flavors—and the results were astonishingly good!