Mexican Black Beans

• servings: 4 servings
• active time: 5 minutes
• total time: 40 minutes

Ingredients

2 (15-ounce/425g) cans black beans, undrained*

1 ½ tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 small red or yellow onion, (diced)

4 garlic cloves, (chopped)

1 jalapeño or serrano pepper, (diced**)

½ teaspoon ground cumin

1 ½ teaspoons dried Mexican oregano

½ teaspoon chipotle chile flakes or red pepper flakes***

1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt

Freshly cracked black pepper

1 pound (454g) fresh tomatoes or 1 (14-ounce/400g) can of diced tomatoes

A glug of extra virgin olive oil****

A squeeze or two of lime juice

1 cup (16g) fresh cilantro leaves and stems, chopped

Directions

Don’t drain the beans!

Prep the fresh tomatoes, if using. Wash, and then add to a food processor and pulse until pureed. Or grate the tomatoes using the wide holes of a box grater.

Make the sofrito. Heat a large sauté pan over medium heat with 1 ½ tablespoons of oil. Once hot, add the onion with a pinch of salt and cook until the onion has softened and is golden but not browned, 5 to 6 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the garlic, jalapeño, cumin, oregano, and chipotle flakes (if using) and cook for 1 to 2 minutes, stirring frequently.

Add the diced tomatoes. Adjust the heat as needed to maintain a rapid simmer and cook until the tomatoes break down and most of the liquid has evaporated, 8 to 10 minutes. Season with the kosher salt and several cracks of black pepper.

Pour the black beans with their liquid into the sofrito. Bring to a simmer and simmer for 15 minutes until thickened and saucy. If it gets too thick, add a splash of vegetable broth if you have it, or water.

Stir in a glug of extra virgin olive oil, a squeeze of lime juice, and cilantro. Taste, and add salt/pepper or more lime juice to taste.

Nutrition

• Calories: 197 kcal
• Total Fat: 6 g
• Saturated Fat: 1 g
• Unsaturated Fat: 5 g
• Sodium: 820 mg
• Total Carbohydrate: 29 g
• Dietary Fiber: 11 g
• Total Sugars: 3 g
• Protein: 10 g