Loaded Black Bean Dogs

I’ll start with a disclaimer: I’ve always been a tree hugger. I stopped eating red meat because of information I learned at an Earth Day event decades ago. I reduce, reuse, recycle, and compost. And, I’m worried about what could happen to our planet as soon as 12 years from now. Have you seen the latest climate change news? We’re currently at 1 degree Celsius warmer than Earth was during the pre-industrial era. The latest report warns that we’ll be at 1.5 C above that level in only 12 years. The article points out that a change of “both 1.5C and 2C would take humanity into uncharted and dangerous territory because they were both well above the Holocene-era range in which human civilization developed.” But the difference is “1.5C gives young people and the next generation a fighting chance of getting back to the Holocene or close to it. That is probably necessary if we want to keep shorelines where they are and preserve our coastal cities.” So, we need to act quickly to slow the warming trend. I just read an article listing five things to do now for positive change. The fifth on that list includes some lifestyle changes. And, that brings me to the book I want to tell you about today: Food Is the Solution: What to Eat to Save the World--80+ Recipes for a Greener Planet and a Healthier You of which I received a review copy. The introductory sections of the book explain in length the problems with concentrated animal feeding operations and encourage plant-based eating for the health of the planet and the individual. But, the message is to “do what works for you – what tastes good and is attainable and sustainable in your daily life.” Giving up some meat and going plant-based even occasionally is helpful. It also gives everyone an opportunity to explore a more varied diet and discover some new and different dishes you maybe hadn’t tried in the past. Following the pages of information about air, soil, and water pollution with handy charts showing water use and emissions caused by the production of different foods, comes the fun part—recipes. Rice Pudding with Coconut and Cranberries sounds perfect for fall weather, and it’s made with coconut milk, cinnamon, and vanilla. I soak and puree cashews for lots of things lately, and that’s my current preferred way to make a Caesar dressing with no egg or cheese. But, I’ve never gone that route for mac and cheese. The Cashew Cream Mac ‘N’ Cheese recipe is about to change that. I also love the idea of Creamy Basil-Chickpea Lettuce Cups with capers and cucumber. Since I jumped on the carrot dog bandwagon over the summer, I’ve had plant-based hot dogs on my mind. I couldn’t pass up the chance to try the Loaded Black Bean Dogs. 

Making the hot dogs themselves is the focus of the recipe. They’re made by pureeing cooked black beans with cilantro, olive oil, tomato paste, onion and garlic powder, smoked paprika, and nutritional yeast. Vital wheat gluten is added to bind the mixture. This was my first time using vital wheat gluten, and I had no idea how good of a job of binding it does. It’s very sticky once it becomes wet. The mixture held together perfectly. It was divided into four portions, and each was shaped into a hot dog. The dogs were wrapped in small pieces of parchment paper and then rolled in foil. The foil-wrapped dogs went into a steamer basket over simmering water and steamed for 40 minutes. After cooling, they were unwrapped and browned in olive oil in a skillet. Browning them on a grill pan would be great too. In the book, tomato and corn salsa is recommended for topping the dogs. I used some sauteed sliced sweet peppers, sliced jalapenos, avocado chunks, sprouts, and cilantro. 

Knowing that beans require a fraction of the amount of water used to produce meat and cause far less pollution from emissions made these hot dogs even more delicious. Of course, the toppings here made the hot dogs amazing, but the texture and flavor of the dogs themselves were great too. I have a lot of fun experimenting with new-to-me plant-based recipes, and the reduced environmental impact of avoiding meat is a bonus.

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Squash, Roasted Tomato, and Popped Black Bean Salad

It just happened again. You know when you pick up a new cookbook, start looking through it, and quickly realize you want to try everything you see? I do mean everything. Every page of A Modern Way to Cook: 150+ Vegetarian Recipes for Quick, Flavor-Packed Meals has something I want to try. This is the new book from Anna Jones, and I recently received a review copy. The recipes all offer fresh, pretty combinations that are plant-focused for eating well. The colors alone in the Bloody Mary Salad with Black Rice made with heirloom tomatoes, celery, and olives, drew me to it. And, the Avocado Fritters with a polenta crust just sound like a delicious idea. The convenient thing about this book is that the recipes are organized by how long they take to prepare. If you’re short on time, stick to the first couple of chapters, and when you’re planning a more elaborate meal look to the Forty-Minute Feasts. There’s also a chapter called Investment Cooking for things to make in advance like nut butters, homemade chickpea tofu, vegetable stock, dips, and more. Last, there are also breakfast recipes and desserts. I plan to try the Salted Almond Butter Chocolate Bars soon. I had two reasons to try the Squash, Roasted Tomato, and Popped Black Beans first. One reason was that I just received a couple of little acorn squash from my CSA, and they were perfect for this salad. And, the second reason was: popped black beans. I thought, what are popped black beans? I love all things popped. I’m a complete popcorn addict, I was delighted to try popped sorghum for the first time and have made it several times since, and I’ve experimented with popped amaranth with less success. But, popped black beans was new to me. A quick online search informed me that this is something that Jamie Oliver has included in a couple of recipes in the past, and I managed to never hear of it. I couldn’t wait to give it a go. 

To begin the recipe, the squash was sliced, tossed with olive oil and salt and pepper, topped with ground seeds from a cardamom pod, and roasted until tender. Meanwhile, cherry tomatoes were halved, tossed with olive and salt and pepper, and topped with grated fresh ginger. The tomatoes were roasted for the last 20 minutes or so of the squash cooking time. Just before the squash was finished roasting, the pan was removed from the oven and flaked coconut was sprinkled on top. The pan went back into the oven until the coconut was toasted. The dressing for the salad was a simple mix of yogurt, lime zest, lime juice, and ground cardamom with salt and pepper. And, at last, it was time to try popping black beans. Black beans from one can were rinsed and drained, and the beans were left to dry on paper towels. A skillet was heated over medium heat, and the dried beans were added. The beans were dry fried until the skins popped and became crisp which takes about five minutes. I sprinkled on a little salt as they crisped. The salad was served on a platter with the squash, coconut, and tomatoes scattered about. The beans were added on top, and the dressing was drizzled over everything. 

Now, first, I have to say that the “popped” black beans were tasty, and they’d make a great snack. The edges do become crispy, and that’s always a welcome texture. But, I’m not sure I agree with the name “popped.” The beans don’t transform the way a popcorn or sorghum kernel does. They just become dry and the skins crack. They do, however, work very well as one of the many varied elements of this flavorful salad. There was so much texture from the vegetables and the toasted coconut, and the flavors of cardamom, ginger, and lime combined nicely. Now, I have several more recipes to try from this book. 

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Black Bean Cakes with Guacamole, Salsa, and Fried Shallots

I love a good cocktail party, of course, for the cocktails themselves but maybe even more for the little servings of food that go so well with a drink. Cocktail party food is always fun food, and that certainly applies to the offerings you’ll find in Mary Guiliani’s new book The Cocktail Party. I received a review copy. She shares stories from her years of catering along with ideas for parties for every season of the year and every time of day. I caught the episode of Barefoot Contessa when she showed Ina how to make her mini grilled cheese sandwiches which is one of her signature party menu items. After cooking, the sandwiches are cut into cute, bite-size, tiny triangles. There are several versions found throughout the book for different themes. The Mini Buffalo Chicken Grilled Cheese and the Mini Sausage and Egg Grilled Cheese were two of my favorite ideas. Another one of her popular menu items is pigs in a blanket, and there are multiple versions of it as well. I need to find a good chicken or seafood version of a mini sausage to try wrapped in puff pastry. The book is organized by party theme, and there are menus and planning ideas for each of them. In addition to a basic party menu, there are also suggested “Snacktivities” for each party, and these are actually buffet options for guests to build their own snacks. I loved the idea of a Mozzarella Bar with fresh ricotta, burrata, and mozzarella along with breads, and toppings like eggplant caponata, roasted peppers, roasted tomatoes, and olive tapenade. Some other party dishes and tips that caught my eye were Mini Banana Pancakes with chocolate chips for a breakfast party; the bottles of tequila hanging on strings from a tree branch for a tasting event; the deviled egg bar with various spices and toppings for sprinkling on top; and the big bowl of Buddha Punch made with wine, champagne, orange juice, lemon juice, rum, and club soda. In some cases, the photos are styled a little differently than the recipes or ideas are described in the text, but that leads you to more ideas for making your party your own. Also, there are suggestions for which items can be purchased rather than made from scratch to let you decide how much time to spend on each part of an event. The first dish I tried was the mini Black Bean Cakes from the Cinco de Mayo party theme. 

These are little, crispy, vegetarian cakes that can be formed in advanced and cooked just before serving. Optionally, they could be cooked in advance as well and reheated in the oven before serving. The cakes are made by pureeing rinsed and drained black beans in a food processor with salsa, cumin, and coriander. That mixture was transferred to a mixing bowl, and panko breadcrumbs, finely chopped green onions, cilantro, and salt were added. You should consider the texture at this point. The salsa I used was a bit runny, so I added some extra breadcrumbs to bring the mixture together better. Next, a baking sheet was lined with parchment, and little cakes were formed by using a mini ice cream scoop. I flattened out the cakes by hand. The sheet of black bean cakes should be refrigerated for about 30 minutes before cooking to firm them up a bit. They were cooked in olive oil in a big skillet for a few minutes per side. I made some guacamole for topping, and I opted to fry shallot rings rather than garnish with store-bought fried onions. 

At this size, each bean cake worked perfectly as one bite which is just what you want when you have a cocktail in one hand. In the head note in the book, it’s pointed out that these bean cakes would also be great as vegan sliders on mini buns. With all the great ideas I’ve just learned here, I need to get to work on a guest list and pick some dates for parties. 

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Tostadas and Cooking Beans in a Wonderbag

Have you heard about the Wonderbag? I’m fascinated with its ability to slow-cook food with no power source. It was invented by Sarah Collins to reduce the need for wood fire cooking, free up time spent tending to meals, and lessen smoke inhalation from indoor live cooking fires. There is a one-for-one program, and for every Wonderbag purchased in the US, one is donated to a family in need in Africa. I received one as a sample for review. I’d like to quote a few interesting facts: “Smoke inhalation from wood fire cooking is the leading cause of death globally. More than 50% of premature deaths in children under five are related to household air pollution. Each Wonderbag saves 1.7 trees, 1,000 liters of water, and 1,248 hours of time not spent collecting firewood.” This is a genius tool for families that use wood fire for cooking, and it’s also incredibly useful and eco-friendly for families who cook with gas or electric stoves. It operates much like any slow cooker in that you can leave a dish for hours, but the dish needs to be heated to a boil first. The bag is made of washable fabric that’s filled with repurposed foam chips, and a drawstring pulls it tightly closed. It’s perfect for cooking things that would usually spend a long time on top of the stove or in the oven. Grains, beans, stews, and soups are all great examples of things to cook in a Wonderbag. And, a small recipe book comes with it to help get you started. A couple of things to keep in mind are pot shape and pot size. First, you’ll want to use a heavy pot with short handles that also has a lid. A long-handled pot won’t fit into the bag. Also, you’ll want to choose the right size pot for the volume of what you’re cooking. If the pot is too large and there is air space above the surface of the contents, the temperature will drop too quickly. My first use of the Wonderbag was to cook black beans, and it worked perfectly. 

I soaked the beans overnight. The next day, I drained them and cooked them in fresh water in a Dutch oven. The water was brought to a boil and allowed to boil for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, I skimmed the foam from the top. After 15 minutes, the lid was placed on the pot, and the pot went into the Wonderbag. You do need to place a trivet or a folded towel in the bottom of the Wonderbag so the pot doesn’t burn the fabric. There’s an insulated lid that fits over the pot, and the drawstring pulls the edges of the bag up and around the fabric-covered lid. I left the beans to slow-cook for about four hours. When I opened the bag, the pot was still very warm and I had beans that had cooked through completely without a stove or any energy source. I love stocking my freezer with two-cup portions of cooked black beans to use for tacos or to serve with quinoa. And, I used some of the black beans to make refritos. I always follow the recipe from Hugo Ortega’s Street Food of Mexico for refried beans. The cooked beans are pureed in a food processor and then stirred into minced onion that’s been cooking in olive oil. I used some of the refritos for Super Bowl nachos, and the rest were layered onto crispy tostadas. To make tostadas, I fry corn tortillas in a little canola oil and drain them on paper towels. And, then the toppings can go in all kinds of directions. The version shown here included refried black beans, sauteed red kale, and shredded Monterrey jack cheese. After those three toppings were in place, I broiled the tostadas to melt the cheese. Then, sliced fresh jalapeno, chopped lettuce, sour cream, salsa, avocado, and pickled jalapeno were added. For a different take, a fried egg would not be out of place at all positioned somewhere between the melted cheese and the avocado. In that version, I skip the lettuce and sour cream. 

I definitely have a new way of cooking beans, and I look forward to trying other things in the Wonderbag too. Another recipe in the booklet is for homemade yogurt. I need a small enough pot with short handles to make that work, but I can’t wait to do it. I was thrilled with my experience cooking with it, and that pales in comparison to what it offers for families who cook with wood fires. 

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Sweet Potato Cakes with Sour Cream and Chipotle Black Bean Salsa

Football season is in full swing, and for me, the best part of watching a game is the spread of snacks that goes along with it. I was recently contacted by The Alcalde, which is an online magazine for the University of Texas alumni, and they asked if I’d like to submit a gameday recipe for this week. I’d be useless in a conversation about football stats, but coming up with food to serve at parties, I can do. Mine is one of four gameday recipes by Austin food bloggers who also happen to have graduated from UT. I wanted to use something seasonal for fall, and sweet potatoes are plentiful right now. There’s a recipe for sweet potato cakes in the book Plenty which is where this idea started. I imagined little, crisp cakes with some added big flavors that would still be easy to pick up at a party. I made some changes to the sweet potato cakes from the book by keeping them simple with just green onion added to the batter and by forming them in a nice, small size. And, since sweet potatoes and chiles belong together, I mixed a chipotle black bean salsa to sit on top and added sour cream for tanginess.

The sweet potato cakes in Plenty have some red chiles and soy sauce in addition to chopped green onions mixed into the batter for extra flavor. I added only green onion and salt and black pepper. Big chunks of peeled sweet potatoes were steamed until tender, allowed to drain until dry, and then mashed with a potato masher. Flour, the green onions, and salt and pepper were added and mixed in by hand, and then small cakes were formed. This process could be done in advance, and the cakes could be stored on a baking sheet in the refrigerator until you’re ready to fry them. They were fried for a few minutes per side in a mix of olive oil and butter, and the butter really adds great flavor. For the chipotle black bean salsa, finely chopped chipotle, small diced yellow bell pepper, minced red onion, chopped cilantro leaves, black beans, lime juice, and some salt were combined, and that’s it. Of course, taste as you go to decide it you’d like more chipotle heat and/or salt. The salsa could also be prepared in advance. For serving, the cakes were topped with sour cream which acts like a glue and holds the salsa in place.

At this size, the cakes hold together well for picking up off a tray, and each one offers a bite or two of sweet, tangy, spicy, fresh flavors. I highly recommend them for a gameday party. Just don’t ask me who won.

Sweet Potato Cakes with Sour Cream and Chipotle Black Bean Salsa

For the sweet potato cakes:
Adapted from Plenty by Yotam Ottolenghi
(Makes 34 small cakes)
2 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped into large chunks
½ cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
5 green onions, both white and green parts, finely chopped
4-6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
4-6 tablespoons butter

-Steam the sweet potato chunks for 15-20 minutes until completely tender, and then transfer to a colander and allow to drain until dry.
- Once very dry, place sweet potato chunks in a large mixing bowl and mash with a potato masher to break up chunks. Add flour and finely chopped green onions, and mix with your hands to form a smooth batter. Using your hands here is best so that it doesn’t become over mixed. In a food processor, the sweet potato mixture could quickly become gummy. Taste for seasoning and add more salt and pepper if needed. Once the mixture is smooth, and the flour and green onions are mixed in, you’re ready to fry. Note: the mixture should be sticky but not wet, so more flour may be needed.
- In a non-stick skillet, heat two tablespoons extra virgin olive oil and two tablespoons butter over medium-high heat. Form round, flat cakes from about two tablespoons of batter per cake, and fry four or five at a time for three minutes per side until golden. Transfer finished cakes to a paper towel-lined baking sheet to drain and cool. Add more oil and butter to pan between batches as needed, and continue frying a few cakes at a time until all are ready for their toppings.

For the black bean salsa:
1 16 oz. can black beans, rinsed and drained
1-2 chipotles in adobo, finely chopped
1 small, yellow bell pepper, small diced
¼ cup finely minced red onion
¼ cup cilantro leaves, chopped
Juice of 1 lime
¼ teaspoon salt

-Combine all salsa ingredients, starting with one chipotle, in a small bowl and stir to combine. Taste for chipotle heat and add more if desired, and taste for seasoning and add more salt if needed. Salsa can be made in advance and stored in the refrigerator.

To assemble for serving:
½ cup sour cream

- Place sweet potato cakes on a serving platter and add a small dollop of sour cream to each. Top sour cream with a small spoonful of black bean salsa, and enjoy.

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Stuffed Poblanos in Chipotle Sauce

Stuffed peppers have a reputation for being a little on the heavy side as food goes. There are meat and rice filled options. Sometimes polanos are stuffed and then breaded and fried. Other times, they're stuffed and covered with cheese and then broiled until gooey. Those options have their desirable qualities, but you rarely hear about a light and healthy kind of stuffed pepper. I've found one, though, that's definitely worth mentioning. It was a couple of weeks ago when I couldn't decide whether to make these stuffed poblanos or a spring barley risotto, and happily, I eventually made them both. This is also from the book Power Foods, and I've been enjoying everything I've tried from it. I'm finding that all the dishes I've tried from that book have a light and healthy feel to them but are still very satisfying. The filling for these poblanos is a mix of quinoa, sauteed mushrooms, black beans, and corn. They're topped with a little goat cheese and set into a smoky sauce of pureed chipotles, garlic, and cilantro. That sauce with some spiciness and the flavor of the roasted poblanos themselves brought some spunk to the quinoa filling, and there was just enough rich tanginess from the goat cheese on top.

I went my own way with the roasting of the poblanos. In the book, you are instructed to roast them on a baking sheet in the oven, but I always roast them right over the gas flame on top of the stove unless I roast them on the grill. I use tongs to turn them as they roast and char. Then, let them cool until you can touch them, then peel off the char, and cut down one side so you can remove the seeds. The poblanos can be roasted in advance if you'd like to get a head start. Next, the quick sauce was made by pureeing canned chipotles chiles, garlic, some salt, and water in a blender. To start the filling, quinoa was simmered while mushrooms were sauteed. Once cooked through, black beans and thawed, frozen corn were added to the mushrooms. Some of the goat cheese was stirred into the mushroom mixture with the cooked quinoa. That was spooned into the four roasted poblanos. The sauce was poured into a baking dish, the poblanos were set on the sauce, the remaining goat cheese was sprinkled on top of the poblanos, and the dish baked for about 20 minutes.

A heavy filling, crispy, fried coating, and thick, gooey, melted cheese layer were not needed here. Instead, flavors of chiles mingled with the quinoa, mushrooms, beans, and corn. There was added interest from the bits of goat cheese on top that browned as the poblanos baked. The lightness of the dish was nothing like what a stuffed pepper usually is, and that made it even better.

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Black Bean and Quinoa Salad

In the December Food and Wine, there was a story about Boston chef Ken Oringer and the tailgate party he hosts on the day he cuts down his Christmas tree. The picnic menu for this party was a really good one, and I have to keep the pages I cut from the magazine because I’d like to recreate the entire thing some day. It included cubano sandwiches, this black bean and quinoa salad, mulled cider, an avocado, grapefruit, and hearts of palm salad, artichoke and spinach dip with spiced pita chips, and caramel pecan bars. Reading that list again just now made me a little hungry. Last week, I wasn’t ready to throw a picnic party and prepare all of that, but I had a plan for jibaritos and thought this salad would fit well with them. As usual, when I cook dried beans, I cook a lot of them at once. I planned ahead, cooked a lot of beans, set aside the amount needed for this recipe, and stored the extra beans in the freezer for future uses. With the black beans already cooked, prepping the salad was quick and easy.

First, the quinoa was cooked and then spread on a sheet pan to cool quickly. A dressing was made by whisking together sherry vinegar, soy sauce, lime juice, and a chopped chipotle chile, and then olive oil was incorporated. Sliced scallions, minced red onion, finely diced yellow pepper, and chopped cilantro were combined with the cooked and cooled black beans and quinoa. The dressing was poured over the mixture, it was tossed to combine, seasoning was checked, and that was it.

The salad is so full of flavor and varied textures you won’t even pause to think about how healthy it is. The chipotle added a little spiciness, and you could increase that and taste as you go while making the dressing. Obviously, you could change the vegetables in the salad, but the ones suggested were a nice mix of colors with the yellow pepper against the black beans and flecks of green cilantro and scallions here and there. This makes a very large quantity of salad, but it stores well in the refrigerator. It’s also great on a bed of arugula and topped with some crumbled feta, so I didn’t mind having a big bowl of it in the refrigerator for a few days.




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Black Bean Tortilla Casserole

I found this recipe in my files, and apparently, I put it there back in 2006. It’s from Living magazine, and it’s similar to other tortilla and bean layered casseroles I’ve made. It’s a versatile dish in that you can easily substitute ingredients here and there, but it is important to keep the moisture content as intended so the casserole doesn’t become soggy and so the cut pieces will hold their shape. I wasn’t able to find this exact recipe on the web site, so I’ll list it below, but there is a similar dish in the Everyday Food cookbook. In that book, it’s called tortilla and black bean pie, and it's a little different from this one. For this version from the magazine, you make a salsa verde which is layered with roasted poblanos, toasted tortillas, black beans, spinach, and cheese. You could save some time by purchasing pre-made salsa, but I had some green tomatoes and chiles to use from my CSA. The suggested method in the recipe involves sauteing onion, garlic, and tomatillos before adding chiles, but I prefer to place all those things with green tomatoes on a baking sheet and brown them under the broiler. Once browned on all sides, everything is pureed in a food processor with lime juice and cilantro.

For the casserole, corn tortillas were cut in half, brushed with oil, and toasted in the oven. They’re removed before they become crunchy, but they do become sturdier. Spinach leaves were cooked and drained, onion was sauteed with chopped roasted poblanos, and the black beans were cooked with garlic. I used a spring-form pan, and the first layer was 12 halves of tortillas which were overlapped in the bottom of the pan. Next, the poblano and onion mixture was added followed by half of the black bean mixture. That was topped with sour cream, since I forgot to buy Mexican crema, and then some salsa was added. Shredded monterey jack cheese was added, and then the layering was repeated with spinach instead of poblanos. Last, the casserole was topped with the remaining tortilla halves, salsa, and cheese.

I was surprised at how easily the spring-form ring was removed, and how easily the casserole was cut. It’s a dry enough mixture that there’s no danger of the layers sliding apart as each piece is plated. Now that I’ve looked at the other casserole in the Everyday Food book, I see it includes corn and green onions. Not that the version I made seemed lacking at all, but those will be great additions when I make this again.

Tortilla Casserole
Living Magazine March 2006
4 fresh poblano chiles, roasted, peeled, seeded and chopped
18 six inch corn tortillas, halved
Vegetable oil
10 ounces baby spinach leaves
1 small white onion, minced
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 15 ounce cans black beans, rinsed and drained
1 c sour cream or Mexican crema
2 1/4 c salsa verde
1 1/2 c shredded monterey jack cheese
Salt and pepper to taste

-Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Brush cut tortillas on both sides with vegetable oil and place on two large baking sheets overlapping as needed. Bake for six minutes and rotate pans after three minutes. Set aside.
-Wash spinach and drain. Heat a large skillet over medium heat and cook spinach briefly just until wilted. Season with salt and pepper and transfer to a colander to drain. Heat two tablespoons oil in skillet, add onion and saute until translucent. Add chopped poblanos, cook until heated through, and transfer to a bowl. Heat another two tablespoons oil in skillet and add garlic. Cook for 30 seconds and add black beans. Season to taste with salt and pepper and cook until heated through.
-Line bottom of a 10-inch spring-form pan with 12 overlapping tortilla halves. Add poblano mixture, top with half the bean mixture, add one half cup of sour cream, and pour 3/4 c salsa on top. Spread 1/2 c shredded cheese on salsa. Repeat layers a second time using spinach instead of poblanos. Top casserole with remaining tortilla halves, salsa, and shredded cheese.
-Place spring-form pan on a baking sheet and bake until heated through, about 45 minutes to one hour. Let stand for 15 minutes before removing spring-form ring and serving. Serve with additional salsa.




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Black Bean, Mango, and Jicama Salad with Citrus Vinaigrette

Ok, yes, this is another black bean recipe, and another salad, but I have a new book to talk about today, and it’s a really good one. Back in May, I learned of this book on the excellent Dana Treat site. Dana always has beautiful and delicious-looking vegetarian food to share on her site, and she highly recommended this book and the author’s other books as well. I wasn’t familiar with the author, Jeanne Lemlin, but I was instantly intrigued and soon thereafter added Vegetarian Classics to my collection. Lemlin explains that by ‘classics’ she means popular dishes that have become favorites in the vegetarian realm. Rather than referring to ethnically or historically accurate meatless cuisines, these classics may have been adapted from traditional recipes including meat but are now well-loved as vegetarian dishes. Because of a small back-log problem, I only just recently got around to reading the book and cooking from it. I always say this, but every recipe looked like something I’d like as I started reading the book. The first chapter is Basics, and the roasted red pepper and walnut pesto and sun-dried tomato pesto instantly had me planning meals for both. In Soups, the vegetable chowder, the Armenian barley yogurt soup, and the thick corn and vegetable soup with herb dumplings are on my list. Then came Salads, and I headed to the kitchen to try this black bean and mango salad before even finishing the chapter.

I used the last of my freezer stash of cooked black beans. They were rinsed and drained and added to cubed mango, jicama, finely diced onion, and chopped jalapeno. A citrus vinaigrette was made from lemon, lime, and orange juices, red wine vinegar, minced garlic, olive oil, and salt and pepper. The chopped salad ingredients were mixed with some vinaigrette, and it was left to become a little happier for 30 minutes or so. Just before serving, cilantro was added to the salad. I scooped the chunky salad onto a bed of baby spinach leaves and garnished with sliced red, cayenne chiles. It occurred to me while making this that it would also be a great wrap filling with some spinach and some cotija or monterey jack cheese.

As we were eating this for dinner, Kurt inadvertently gave me one of the best compliments he could have. He mentioned something about how canned beans tend to have that particular taste about them, but they seemed different and so much better than usual in this salad. He went on to comment on how he enjoyed all the ingredients and flavors in the salad and that he thought it worked really well. I let him know the beans weren’t from a can and agreed that the salad was a hit.

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BlackBean Waffles with Tomatoes, Chiles, and Eggs

I started with a Michael Chiarello recipe and took it in a whole Bobby Flay direction. I hope they don’t mind. You see, the other day on Twitter, Chef Chiarello posted a link to what he prepared that day on the CBS Early Show, and that was white bean waffles with heirloom tomatoes and olive oil basted eggs. I thought it sounded great, and then I remembered the leftover black beans in my freezer. I started mentally re-engineering this into a southwestern-influenced dish. I have to explain right up front that although this is a savory waffle, the flavor isn’t beany. The beans are pureed into the batter and lend a nice texture while not affecting the taste in any negative or even noticeable way. The original dish was suggested as breakfast for dinner, but I served it as breakfast for brunch.

I also cut the recipe in half and still ended up with enough waffles to store some in the freezer for a future use. To begin, I weighed out 15 ounces of thawed, fully cooked, black beans. I brought them to a boil with a half cup of water, a big pinch of cumin, a smaller pinch of cayenne, and a generous sprinkling of ancho powder which made me think of Bobby Flay. The beans simmered for a few minutes, and then they were removed from the heat and allowed to cool. Once cool, they were blended with eggs, milk, and olive oil. That blended mixture was whisked into flour, baking powder, and salt. Then, waffle production began. I always let just enough time pass between waffle preps that I forget if it’s five minutes, six minutes, or seven minutes. Five is definitely not quite long enough to get a nice toasty surface on both sides. Six is ok, but seven seems to be just right for my machine. Once the waffles were finished and placed in a warm oven to wait, I fried some eggs as suggested in the recipe. Chopped chiles were added to olive oil in a saute pan, the eggs were placed in the hot pan, and the oil was used to baste the egg whites as they cooked.

To finish the dish, I strayed again from the Italian flavors intended. I left out the prosciutto and used cotija cheese and some crema instead. The waffles were topped with the eggs, a mix of chopped fresh yellow tomatoes, red cherry tomatoes, sliced red and green serrano chiles, and some cilantro. A nice, runny egg provides a sauce of sorts, and the fresh, juicy tomatoes and crema work in that way as well. It was a plate full of contrasting textures and colors. Of course, the waffles didn’t turn out at all black from the beans, but I wondered if their color would have been more interesting if I had used some blue corn meal. I’ll try that next time. I’m always a fan of spicy toppings with eggs, but this melange was above and beyond my usual southwestern breakfast fare.

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Black Bean Soup

Black bean soup had been on my mind for quite some time. I had seen delicious versions at Noob Cook and at A Southern Grace, and I kept thinking about how I needed to buy a big bag of beans and make some soup. I finally did that and used some of those beans for tostaditas as well. This particular black bean soup is from Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone, and it’s very much just about the beans themselves. It’s a simple soup with no spicy edge and minimal garnishes, but it is pointed up with Madeira and enriched with cream. Sadly, it’s not a very pretty-looking soup, but I seem to have a knack for cooking up unphotogenic bowls of goodness.

To begin the soup, onion, celery, carrot, diced green bell pepper, bay leaves, chopped rosemary, and thyme were sauteed in butter. Tomato paste was added and briefly cooked before the beans were placed in the pot and covered with water. This was left to simmer until the beans were tender. Salt was added, the bay leaves were removed, and then two-thirds of the soup was pureed. The puree was added back to the pot and stirred into the remaining soup. I liked this result of varied textures with some thickness from the puree and some whole beans. At this point, a half cup of Madeira and a half cup of cream were added. I served the soup with a little crema and some chopped parsley.

I, of course, love black beans prepared in a southwestern style with lots of fresh and dried chiles, but this simpler approach was a nice change of pace. The herbs and vegetables provided a foundation for the flavor of the beans, and the Madeira brightened it up. Naturally, cream never hurts a dish, and here it made the puree seem even smoother. It sounds so basic because it’s just black bean soup, but this is surprisingly flavorful and filling and deliciously so.


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Smoked Salmon-Black Bean Tostaditas

I had been thinking about black beans for weeks. I wanted to cook a big pot of them and then use them in a couple of different dishes. Mostly, I was thinking about making black bean soup. In the process of searching here and there to compare and contrast different soup recipes, I discovered this gem of a starter in Rick Bayless’ Mexico One Plate at a Time. Crisp, slender-cut tostadas smeared with pureed black beans and topped with a fresh mix of smoked salmon, tomato, green onion, serranos, and cilantro grabbed my attention, and I went right off to collect the ingredients.

To make the black bean puree, avocado leaf is suggested as an optional ingredient. If you’re lucky enough to have some, you are to crumble a leaf and add it to the food processor with the beans. I read a recent blog post on Oyster Food and Culture about avocado leaves and hoped I’d be able to locate some for this recipe. In fact, I left the house feeling sure I’d find avocado leaves. I was wrong. Once again, a hunt for a specific ingredient was unsuccessful. One day, I’m going to open my own little specialty shop for all of these ingredients that I never seem to find. At any rate, the avocado leaf was optional, so I proceeded without it. Onion and garlic were sauteed and then added to the food processor bowl with the black beans. It was processed until smooth and then returned to a saute pan. Bean cooking liquid was stirred into the puree a little at a time until a a soft consistency was achieved. That was kept warm while the salmon mixture was made and the tortillas were cut into long triangles. The instructions suggest frying the tortillas, but I brushed them with oil and baked them instead. Then, the tostaditas were assembled and topped with some crema.

The smoked salmon mixture was ceviche-ish although there was no lime. The smoky saltiness of the salmon with the crunchy green onions and chiles contrasted nicely with the smooth bean puree. These tostaditas would be great for a party as a small amount of smoked salmon was stretched to serve several portions. Also, by cutting the tortillas yourself, whether you fry or bake them, you can decide the size and shape for ease of serving. This was another winner of a dish from Bayless, and I haven’t encountered a disappointment from this book yet.


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