Black Beans and Sneaky Greens

So, finally here it is, the long awaited recipe for Black Beans with Sneaky Greens. This is a great versatile recipe. It is easy and very inexpensive to throw together a big pot of flavorful beans that can be served as a soup, in tacos, with arepas, over rice with a fried egg, or add some diced tomato and hot pepper to spice it up a bit. Cooked beans freeze well, so if you make a large pot full, try freezing a few portions for a quick weeknight meal in the future.

Black Beans with Sneaky Greens *

2 large onion or 4 cups coarsely chopped

8 cloves garlic peeled

1 1/2 tablespoon salt

3 tablespoons oil

16 cups water

4 cups dried black beans

4 cups finely chopped kale, collards or spinach (large stems removed)

1. In a blender or food processor, puree onions, garlic, oil and salt.
2. In a medium soup pot over medium-low heat, saute the onion and garlic mixture until very fragrant and no longer raw smelling, about 15 minutes. Stir occasionally and be careful not to brown.
3. Rinse beans and add to the pot along with the water.
4. Simmer beans for 3 hours or until tender and the sauce has thickened. If it is very thick and the beans are still firm, add water. If the sauce is still thin but beans are tender, continue to simmer on very low heat until sauce has thickened. Stir occasionally to ensure that the beans do not stick to the bottom of the pan and burn. Once the beans are tender and the sauce thickened, add the chopped greens and simmer till tender, about 20 minutes for kale or collards, 4 minutes for spinach. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper and serve.

*You do not need to soak the beans ahead of time to make this dish, and the taste improves when the beans are made a day or so ahead of time.

To make Tacos:

6" soft tortillas (flour or corn)

plain low fat yogurt

shredded lettuce

optional additions: hot sauce, onions, mojo sauce, grated cheese, salsa

1. Warm tortillas
2. Top with beans, yogurt and lettuce
3. Enjoy

Quick and delicious condiment

I often make a quick and flavorful onion hot sauce to accompany my tacos: finely dice a small onion, squeeze the juice of one lime on top (or a few tablespoons of white vinegar if you don't have a lime), add a sprinkle of salt and sugar and some hot pepper, (either diced fresh pepper, red pepper flakes or a squeeze of hot sauce). Mix and let sit for 10 minutes to soften the onion. Spoon over tacos as desired. 

Here are some dishes I have made over this year clockwise from top left:

burrito with lime and hot sauce, arepas with lettuce and beans (this actually got a fried egg on to before it was eaten), garlic and kale rice topped with black beans and cheddar, broiled and then spooned over a roasted half of a poblano pepper.

 Are you cooking with beans these days? Please share your favorite dishes by commenting below!