Black Bean Chilli

This post follows directly on from Black Beans 101. Martha Rose Shulman has a number of recipes using her perfectly simmered black beans. The first one I tested out was her  Black Bean Chilli. I've been searching for a vegetarian chilli recipe for ages and I'm so happy I found this one.

I made a few changes, primarily due to a lack of canned chipotle chiles in adobo sauce available in Australia. As a substitute I added paprika, fresh chilli and apple cider vinegar. I also added some celery, because it was in the fridge and needed to be used.

It's thick, rich and delicious!

1 pot simmered Black Beans
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 medium onions finely chopped
6 large garlic cloves, minced
2 fresh chillies
3 sticks celery
1 tbl dried chilli
1 tablespoon lightly toasted cumin seeds, ground
425 gm tin tomatoes
2 tbl apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 tbl paprika
1 teaspoon dried oregano
Salt
1/2 cup chopped coriander

Make the black beans as directed, preferably the day before you wish to serve.

Heat the oil over medium heat and add the onion and celery

 

Cook, stirring often, until the onion is lightly colored, about 10 minutes.

Add the fresh chilli and garlic, fry for a minute or two until fragrant

 

Then add the spices, dried chilli, cumin and paprika. Cook, stirring, for two to three minutes, until the mixture begins to stick to the pan.
 

 

Add the tinned tomatoes, vinegar and oregano. Bring to a simmer and cook for about 10 minutes.

  

 

Stir in tomato paste then simmer for another 15 minutes, stir often to prevent it from sticking and burning.

 

Add the Black Beans to the tomato mixture and bring back to a simmer.

 

 

 

Continue to simmer, stirring often, for 45 - 60 minutes.

 

Taste and adjust salt.

 

I've been eating this all week in various ways along the theme of a burrito salad.

Served with brown rice and/or sweet potato

Garnished with fresh tomatoes, lettuce, black olives, coriander, jalapeños, spring onion, grated cheese, natural yogurt and corn chips.

 

Black Beans 101

Black beans are not widely used or available in Australia, which is sad, because they are so delicious not to mention super healthy. Lucky for me the Kakulas Brothers in Northbridge, Perth have bulk bins of almost everything you could desire, including dried black beans.

I attempted cooking black beans once before with poor results because I boiled them and discarded the cooking water - amateurs mistake. They require more time and effort than other dried beans, but after discovering the absolute brilliance that is Martha Rose Shulman and her guide to Black Beans as part of her awesome recipe series with the NY times called Recipes for Health, I think my cooking abilities are about to take a leap forward.

 

On her website she says, "I draw my inspiration from Mediterranean and Mexican cuisines, inherently healthy cuisines with big flavors, whose recipes can be easily adapted, if they need to be, to lower-fat versions without compromising flavor"... I want to meet this woman!

 

This recipe is pretty much Martha Rose Shulman's to the letter, it takes a good 2-3 hours and completely worth the time and effort. 

I am tired of the excessive foodie language used today in Australia. Comments like "I love how the saltiness of the fish sauce is balanced by the sweetness of the palm sugar", or "I love the way the lemon zest brings out the flavour of the beans" are so over used and drive me bananas. For this reason I avoid being too verbose when describing food.

But for this recipe I can't help it. The rich earthiness of these black beans has to be tried to be believed, it is deeply satisfying.There I said it..

When you have time, give this recipe a go, you won't regret it!

 

2 cups dried black beans, washed and picked over for stones

1 tablespoon canola oil

2 medium onions diced

6 large garlic cloves roughly chopped

1/4 cup chopped coriander

Salt to taste 

Soak the beans in about 2 litres of the water for at least six hours. If they will be soaking for a long time in warm weather, put them in the refrigerator.

 

Heat the oil over medium heat in a large, heavy soup pot or Dutch oven, and add the onion. Cook, stirring, until it begins to soften, about three minutes.

 

Add the garlic. Cook, stirring, until fragrant, about one minute.

 

Add the beans and soaking water. The beans should be covered by at least an inch of water. Add more as necessary and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, and skim off any foam that rises.

Once it comes to a boil, this is when I put mine in the oven at about 170 degrees for an hour, alternatively simmer on a low heat for an hour.

Add salt and fresh coriander and simmer for another hour.

 

The beans will become soft and the broth thick and fragrant. Taste for salt.

T

Let sit overnight in the refrigerator for the best flavor.

 

 

I ate mine with brown rice, coriander, spring onion, lettuce, jalapenos, fresh chilli, black olives and a couple of corn chips. Some sour cream or natural yogurt would have been good, but it wasn't missed.

Tuna, Brown Rice & Green Lentil Salad

This post is a variation on a theme, salad of grains/pulses + fresh vegetables + onion + herbs, therefore it looks pretty similar to my couscous salad and chickpea salad recipes, but just different enough to keep things interesting as well as healthy! This recipe makes a pretty big salad, enough to keep you going for lunches at work for the week, or to take to a BBQ at a friends place. When I make it for lunches I make it really lean, no dressing or oil, that way it lasts longer and when I pack my lunch for the day I can either keep it super lean or put a blob of mayonnaise/dash of olive oil on it.

 

The rate determining step in this salad is cooking the brown rice and lentils. Both medium grain brown rice and French/Puy green lentils take 30 minutes to boil - so I put them in the same pot. I might be committing some kind of terrible lentil sin doing this, but it seems to work perfectly every time. Yesterday I bought some green lentils and the miss-informed sign about the bulk bin said you must soak overnight before cooking-total rubbish!

 

Tuna, brown rice and green lentil salad

 

1/2 cup uncooked brown rice

1/2 cup uncooked french green lentils

3 sticks of celery
3 spring onions
1/2 a red onion
1 red capsicum
2 tomatoes (seeds removed)
1/2 a zucchini

large bunch of parsley
20 mint leaves
small handful of coriander leaves
large tin of tuna

Place the lentils and brown rice into a saucepan with cold water,bring to boil and simmer for about 30 minutes. Testing the brown rice to confirm when it is cooked

While the lentils and rice are cooking, it's time for your meson plus!

Finely dice the onions, vegetables and herbs.

 

then add the drained tuna, I buy SAFCOL "responsibly fished, pole and line caught tuna" based on the 2011 Canned Tuna Greenpeace Guide.

 

 

Once the rice and lentils are cooked, drain and rinse with cold water. Allow to cool then add to the rest of the salad.

 

 

And you're done

 

 

Today's lunch, tuna, brown rice & lentil salad with a boiled egg, some black olives and capers!