I had a pound of black beans in my pantry so this is what I came up with today. This is a very flavorful and EASY recipe to prepare. The one ingredient you need that is harder to find is Epazote. You can find epazote at any Mexican Supermarket and I do come across Epazote at Whole Foods every now and then. You should purchase Epazote and keep it in your freezer because it is a very strong herb and a little goes a long way. I do have one jalapeño in the recipe but one jalapeño doesn’t add much heat here. If you want to kick up the heat a little I HIGHLY RECOMMEND sending away for Chitepin Peppers……(many different spellings). They are expensive and difficult to find but are worth it! They are tiny peppers only the size of peppercorns but are so darn delicious and flavorful…you only need 2 or 3 of these peppers to make a world of difference. You might have noticed that I didn’t sauté the majority of the vegetables first. That is because I wanted the flavors of the vegetables to go into the beans..when you sauté the vegetables the vegetables are tasty but I want to flavors to go into the beans……It’s easy and it works.

Ingredients for about 6 servings

1 lb dried black beans – rinsed and inspected and then soaked over night in twice as much water as beans. Refrigerate.

2 teaspoons course sea salt

1 carrot – peeled and well chopped

3 garlic cloves – chopped fine

1 celery rib – well chopped

1/4 cup onion – well chopped

2 bay leaves

1 teaspoon epazote – fine chopped

1/2 teaspoon cumin

1/2 teaspoon chili powder

1/2 teaspoon oregano

1 cup green bell pepper – roasted or sautéed – cut in strips

1 jalapeno pepper – roasted or sautéed – chopped fine

fresh ground sea salt to taste

fresh ground black pepper to taste

1/4 cup scallions – sliced thin – to finish

1/4 cup fresh cilantro – chopped – to finish

optional – if you like spicy 2-3 chiletepin peppers

Directions

The black beans get rinsed well and go in a pot and get covered with JUST WATER an inch over the beans. Bring to boil and then reduce to simmer for an hour. Put a loose cover on the pot after the beans are simmering.

After an hour add the salt, carrot, celery, onion, bay leaves, epazote, cumin, chili powder, oregano, green bell pepper and  jalapeño.

let the pot continue to simmer 30 minutes. You might need another cup or two of water here.

Taste and adjust seasonings and add fresh ground sea salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste.

Decide if you want to add Chitepin peppers.

Decide if the beans need another 1/2 hour….Undercooked beans can be harmful or TOXIC…….you want the beans cooked all the way but only fresh dried beans will get creamy. You might need a little more water again.

When the beans are done serve with fresh scallions, fresh and cilantro. You might also want  some sort of sour cream and  Mexican Crumbling Cheese.

This dish is well seasoned and delicious! You will make people happy with this.