Beautiful Black Beans

If you want to have something warm and hearty on the table, a side to go with that Mexican meal, a dip for that bag of tortilla chips then look no further.

I always have a few cans of black beans in the cupboard as they're my favourite tasting bean by far. I use them in my chilli but particularly love them as the star of the show. the black beans in this recipe are packed with flavour and are just delicious over rice, potatoes, in a burrito, with Tortilla chips for breakfast, lunch or dinner!

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NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION

According to The World's Healthiest Food website "From a single, one-cup serving of black beans you get nearly 15 grams of fiber and over 15 grams of protein".

The Nutrition Data site tells us that black beans are "very low in Saturated Fat, Cholesterol and Sodium. It is also a good source of Protein, Thiamin, Magnesium, Phosphorus and Manganese, and a very good source of Dietary Fiber and Folate."

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Recipe

BEAUTIFUL BLACK BEANS

You can, of course, cook these black beans up from their dried state. This will be by far a cheaper option but requires a little bit of planning and time. I believe you need to soak the beans for 24 hours (do this or you'll lose your friends **cough*gas*cough**) and then cook them for a few hours. You'd be able to make a great big batch of this recipe OR freeze them as they are (drained or not) and use them in future recipes.

I am rarely organised enough to know what we're having to eat an hour in advanced let alone 24 hours in advanced which you may gather from every other recipe on this blog!

SERVES 2-4 as a main dish

PREP TIME 5 MINS | COOK TIME 10 MINS+ | TOTAL TIME 15 MINS

INGREDIENTS

1 tbsp oil

1/2-1 onion (finely chopped)

1-3 cloves garlic (crushed)

2 cans black beans - not drained (3-4 cups from dried)

1/2 tsp each: cumin, coriander, chilli*, salt

1/2 cup veg stock

Juice 1 lime*

1 tbsp jar jalapenos (finely chopped)

* optional

METHOD

1. Heat the oil on a medium heat and throw in the onions. Cook until just starting to brown.

2. Add the Garlic and stir for one minute.

3. add the spices, keep stirring for one minute.

4. Add the beans, stock and jalapenos. Stir well. Cover and simmer for at least 10 minutes (you can keep cooking for as long as you want really but if you're in a rush!)

5. Once the beans are soft use a potato masher to burst about half of the beans open until you have a lovely thick bubbling bowl of black beans.

6. Add the lime juice if using.

7. Taste and adjust before serving (salt, lime, jalapeno)