Blog

I love an easy and healthy pantry meal. Something that can be quickly put together with minimal effort and price, maximum flavour and which will give me enough food for several meals. By nature, pantry meals are often vegetarian/vegan and so it is with this black bean stew.

The dish is an adaptation of a fantastic recipe for black bean stuffed peppers from Belle of the Kitchen — I have made the recipe a couple of times, and although it is delicious, it felt like too much effort if I wasn’t having people over. So I deconstructed it, added some of my own touches, and you get this. It looks like a bit of a mess, but it’s flavourful, with layers, balance, and different textures — pretty much a party in your mouth, that also feels comforting and nourishing.

As a bonus, it’s wonderfully versatile, keeping for several days (even even a week) in the fridge, and freezes well, which means there is enough for an even easier meal on another day. You can serve it with rice, put it in a wrap with vegetables, or as the bean mix in a burrito. You could probably also let it simmer longer with some stock to make it into a black being chili, definitely add other flavours based on your preferences and what you were in the mood for… Basically, the sky’s the limit.

Ingredients

1 tablespoon butter or oil

1 shallot or half a small-medium yellow onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, cut as large or as small as you want

1 bell pepper, diced

½ cup frozen corn

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed (I use a great organic brand with no added salt and don’t bother with the rinsing)

¾ cup salsa of your choice (For the Canadians out there – I really like Sweet Heat from Neal Brothers)

½ lime

Cumin

Cajun spice

Dried coriander

Dried oregano

Salt

Serve with rice of your choice, and shredded cheese if you’d like.

Makes 3-4 portions, depending on your appetite. Good freezer meal.

Instructions

Brown the butter or warm the oil, then sauté the onion until soft, add garlic and let them get to know each other for about a minute. Add beans and bell pepper and let it cook a little. Then mash up about half of the beans with a potato masher or fork, add corn and salsa, and stir to combine. Let this sit for a few minutes to start blending the flavours. Taste, then add spices, salt, and a squeeze of lime. I usually start a little conservative, then add more until it hits the right flavor.

Let me know if you make this!