Black Beans - share some recipes?

[KyndCulture]

My neighbor went to the international food market in the next town today and I asked her to bring me back a 5lb bag of black beans. Whatta deal for a buck and a quarter!

I love them just cooked with some onion and celery and cajun seasoning in the crock pot over some rice... but does anybody else have some interesting recipes for them?

[Warpy]

1. Black bean salsa!

which can be a side dish to just about any grilled meat or fish:

Cooked black beans, chopped onion, cilantro, chopped peeled seeded tomato, pressed garlic, jalapeno pepper (for taste), serrano pepper (for heat) and a squirt of lime juice. Mix and allow the flavors to marry at room temp for an hour or two or refrigerate overnight. I'm not giving proportions because there really aren't any. Just do it for color and taste.

There are also some really good black bean soup recipes out there, but it's not a specialty at Casa Gringa, so I won't share mine.

[japple]

3. I make a salsa very similar to this except I also include corn. When

we have corn from the garden, I grill it and then scrape it off the cob. Out-of-season, I use frozen kernal corn and have even used canned corn. I could eat this every day, esp. with blue corn chips. Now I'm gonna have to go make myself a batch.

[SoCalDem]

2. Feijoada

Feijoada
(Brazilian Black Beans)
http://www.maria-brazil.org/feijoada.htm

This is the national dish of Brazil. It is traditionally served on a Saturday and it is a festive meal to share with family and friends. There are as many recipes as there are cooks in Brazil and some regional variations too. I learned to make feijoada from my aunt in Rio and have adapted the recipe to use the ingredients that I can find in the US. We always start with caipirinhas and end with the Brazilian Style Flan for dessert. Plan to spend the morning in the kitchen and the afternoon around the table (all to the sounds of Brazilian music...Universal Music Latino has released a compilation of delicious songs with this very thing in mind). If you can find some Brazilian beer, you'll be positively in heaven...



This is the recipe featured in National Geographic Traveler magazine, July/August 1999 issue and on the Peace Corps website in 2004. Yummy and now famous too!

Recipe:
8 cups dried black beans

3 pounds carne seca (Brazilian salted cured beef)

2 pounds sweet sausage (I use Portuguese choriço when available)

2 pounds baby back spareribs

2 bay leaves

1 large onion

2 cloves garlic

3 tablespoons olive oil

The night before, soak the beans in a large bowl with water to cover at least 3-4 inches. Soak the carne seca in water to cover. The next morning, drain the beans and place in a large pot with water to cover by at least 3 inches. Bring the beans to a boil in medium heat.

Meanwhile, cut the carne seca into 1-inch pieces. Cut the sausage into 1-inch pieces. (When I use the Portuguese sausage I usually prick it with a fork and simmer it for ten minutes in enough water to cover; then I cut it.) Cut the ribs into 2-rib sections.

Add the carne seca, sausage, ribs and bay leaves to the beans. Simmer for about 2 hours or until soft (Goya brand black beans usually take about 2 hours) , stirring from time to time, adding water as necessary to keep beans covered. Keep an eye on the beans so they don't burn at the bottom!

Chop the onion and garlic. Heat the olive oil in a cast iron skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook until golden brown. Add two ladlefuls of beans and mash them. Put this back into the pot. It will thicken and season the beans.

Continue to simmer gently for at least another hour, adding water as necessary. A good feijoada should have a creamy consistency when done. Remove the bay leaves. Some people take the meats out at this point and serve them separately on a platter. I like to leave them in with the beans, it keeps them hot. Serve the feijoada and garnishes in ceramic bowls and platters, it will add a touch of authenticity!

To serve feijoada, put a mound or rice on your plate and place a ladleful or two of feijoada on top. Arrange oranges and couve around the sides. Sprinkle the beans and couve with farofa and add a spoonful of sauce to the side.

Garnish for feijoada:
Slices from 6 oranges: using a sharp knive, peel the oranges, cut into thin slices and arrange them on a platter.

[Gormy Cuss]

4. Another black bean salsa /relish idea

Similar to Warpy's salsa, but substitute diced firm peach or nectarine and leave out the garlic. The fruit must be firm, just barely ripe enough to eat, or it becomes mushy. This is also a great side dish for grill fish or poultry,

Black bean salsas are great filling for veggie tacos, and seasoned black beans are perfect for burritos.

[triplementor]

5. E-Z Can-Opener Recipe

1 standard-sized can tomatoes w/ green chilies
2 " " cans tomatoes, chopped or crushed, no salt
1 can no- salt corn
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
dried or fresh cilantro, to taste

Use no-fat yogurt as a condiment! if you like, you can make the the recipe hotter by changing the balance of the two kinds of canned tomatoes.

VERY healthy, and easy! Just heat & eat! :9

You can always adjust the recipe accordingly to use fresh or dry ingredients!

[stellanoir]

6. Black bean & wild rice curried soup

I made this one up a few years ago and make it for five households around Labor Day annually when the local vegetables are fresh. It makes a huge difference in terms of richness of flavor when the vegetables are fresh.

Soak black beans overnight and drain them in the morning.

Cook beans and add the rice after the beans have been on a slow boil for about 20 minutes.

When the beans and rice are done reduce heat. The rice should be slightly crunchy and the beans should be soft. Add curry powder.

Sautee a whole lot of garlic, onions, and green peppers in olive oil. Add some ginger soy to the cooked vegetables and mix them into the beans and rice. Add julliened greens beans, sliced or grated carrots (I've used both), fresh blanched corn on the cob sliced off the cob (Duh).

Chop up a bunch of fresh cilantro and the juice of at least 6 limes.

Sorry there are no quantities listed here but I'm sort of a free form cook and just eyeball everything. But there is a delicate balance to achieve between the ginger soy, curry powder, cilantro, and lime juice so you can add those ingredients gradually and adjust accordingly.

The first time I made it the flavor was far too heavy so I discovered that cilantro and lime really lightened it and enhanced it tremendously.

[spindrifter]

7. Just saw a recipe for black beans, corn,

avocado, onion, tomato and shrimp in a salad. The dressing was oil, lime juice and garlic. Also had lots of fresh cilantro. It looked great.

[stellanoir]

8. Am kicking this thread because. . .

in a about weeks time, with the ton of fresh vegetables available, it's prime time for making my black bean & wild rice curried soup posted above.

So I fully intend to do so. So there. Hope somebody else may be so inspired as well.

It's so yummy. :)

[calico1]

9. I posted this one a while back.

It's a crock pot recipe and it is excellent!

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=236&topic_id=11890#11977