TracyFood

Recipe: Simple Savory Black Beans 4 March 2008 6:51 pm

Posted by Tracy in : cooking, recipes, vegan, vegetarian , trackback

Better late than never, here’s one of the black bean recipes I was thinking about when I mentioned them two Monkey Mondays ago. Which reminds me — this week’s Monkey Monday should finally be going up later tonight.

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These are my “southwestern”-style black beans, for lack of a better term — they’re burrito filling, part of or a side for huevos rancheros, stuff like that, a cousin to my refried beans except with the firmer texture of black beans, which are not as quick to turn soft and mooshy as pintos (are pintos starchier? I should look this up, and by no means do I intent do imply that there’s anything wrong with soft and mooshy beans if that’s what you’re looking for.) You can use either canned or home-cooked beans for this recipe: one can is about 1 1/2 cups of beans, maybe 1 3/4. See the refried beans post linked above for tips on cooking your own beans, which I highly recommend if you’ve got the time. Also, definitely check out this awesome article about the many stock-like uses of bean cooking liquid. It’s fantastic! And now, on to the recipe:

Ingredients and Equipment

For 4-6 servings, depending on whether you’re thinking main dish or side or burrito filling.

at least 2-3 TB cooking fat (vegetable oil, butter, ghee, lard, what have you, just make sure you’re using enough)
1 cup diced onions (maybe 1 small onion)
4-5 cloves garlic, peeled and minced or pressed
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (or more, or less, to taste)
1 TB cumin
1 tsp salt (you might want to leave this out if you’re using canned beans)
2 1/2 to 3 cups cooked black beans, or 2 14-ounce cans, drained and well rinsed
1 to 1 1/2 cups bean cooking liquid or water or vegetable stock — not the liquid from the can, please!
frying pan suitable for 3 cups of beans and all the trimmings, stirring implement, and maybe a potato masher

What You Do

Heat your frying pan and the cooking fat of your choice; fry the onions and garlic until fragrant, then add cayenne and cumin (adding spices at the beginning makes it hard to tell when the onions and garlic are fragrant). When the onions and garlic are translucent, add the salt (if using), then the beans and their cooking liquid. Cook at least 5-10 minutes, or until the bean broth reduces (if you’re in a hurry, use less), and mash if you want to thicken things up with a little extra starch.

That’s it! I told you these were simple! Now enjoy!