Picadinho (diced beef stew)

Method

1. Cut the stewing beef into cubes of about 1.5 cm (butcher's cubes are larger), trimming tough sinew. Season with 1 teaspoon of salt and black pepper. Finely chop 2 onions and 3 garlic cloves; chop the remaining ½ onion for the rice. Heat 1 litre of water.
2. In a wide pot (or the open pressure cooker) over medium-high heat, brown the beef in 3 batches, each with 1 tablespoon of oil, about 2 minutes per side, without stirring too much. Set aside.
3. In the same pot over medium heat, fry the diced bacon for 3 minutes. Add the onion and a pinch of salt and cook until soft, about 4 minutes; add the garlic and stir for 1 minute.
4. Add the tomato paste and stir for 3 minutes until a light crust forms on the bottom. Sprinkle in the flour and stir for 1 minute more.
5. Add the Worcestershire sauce and the lime juice, then pour in the hot water little by little, scraping the bottom well. Return the beef and its juices, bring to the boil and lower the heat: simmer covered for 60 to 70 minutes, stirring now and then, until the beef is tender and the broth has body. In a pressure cooker, use only 700 ml of water and cook 20 minutes once it starts hissing.
6. Make seasoned beans from cooked beans (2 tins, or from the week's batch): in a small pan, heat 1 tablespoon of oil and fry 2 chopped garlic cloves for 1 minute; add the black beans with their tin liquid, 1 bay leaf and 200 ml of water. Mash a ladleful of beans against the bottom to thicken the broth and simmer over low heat for 10 minutes, stirring now and then; taste before salting, as tinned beans are already seasoned. If starting from dried beans (250 g), soak them 8 to 12 hours and pressure-cook for 25 to 30 minutes once the cooker starts hissing.
7. Make fluffy white rice: boil 750 ml of water in a kettle. In a medium pan, heat 1 tablespoon of oil over low heat and soften ½ onion, finely chopped, with a pinch of salt for 2 minutes; add 300 g of long-grain rice and stir for 1 minute until every grain is coated. Pour in the boiling water, add 1 teaspoon of salt, stir once and cook uncovered over medium heat until the water drops to the level of the rice (about 7 minutes). Lower the heat, half-cover and cook 8 minutes more until dry; turn off the heat, keep covered for 5 minutes and fluff with a fork.
8. Turn off the heat under the picadinho, chop the parsley and stir it in. Check the salt and serve with the rice and beans.