Pineapple and Black Bean Rice

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I am not terribly big on fruit in my dinners. I like salty-sweet combos but something about cooked fruit, especially, turns me off. But, I’m trying to ease my way into more dishes that incorporate fruit and I’ve been successful a few times so far. I’m still not a pork and cinnamon apples kinda gal, but who knows? Maybe one day I will be.

What better way to include fruit in a dish than with Jamaican jerk shrimp we had last week? Island food often has fruit flavors fused into everything from the main course to the dessert. I decided that pineapples would complement the meal nicely and, as a bonus, pineapples are one of my favorite fruits. I thought the pineapples, spice, and black beans went nicely with this rice side, and paired well with the shrimp. The pineapples definitely don’t stay as sweet as they would be if you were eating them alone, even with the addition of the brown sugar. But, I like that because it’s more of a mellow sweetness than an overpowering acidic taste. I think I can add this to the fruit-in-a-dish success pile.

Now, the problem with not using a recipe and then not updating your blog for a few days after the meal is that you tend to forget what actually went into the dish. So, in other words, I make no guarantees that these are the exact ingredients and amounts that I used on that fateful fruity day, but they are close enough and of course you can play around with the ingredients and amounts to your liking.