Pasilla Black Bean Salsa
Difficulty level Easy
We got invited out to a New Year's Eve party at the home of our friends Robert and Sarah (who also provided me with my favourite new recipe of the past year). The idea was to go tobogganing and then have a pot luck dinner, so Sarah suggested a Mexican theme so we could warm up with vegetarian chili and hot chocolate.
Well, the anticipated blizzard didn't arrive until after midnight so the toboggans stayed on the front porch, and we were forced to eat and drink instead. With great company and great food, it was a delightful way to ring in the new year.
Part of my contribution to the pot luck was a green chili and black bean salsa. I didn't have any dried pasilla chilies, so I substituted a fresh green chili pepper which was a bit hotter than the dried, so I left out the red chili. I also added some diced canned tomatoes just to flesh it out a bit. I got lazy and used canned black beans rather than soaking and cooking them.
INGREDIENTS
| 5 1/2 oz | dried black beans (or 1/2 can black beans) |
| 2 | dried pasilla chilies (or 1 fresh medium hot green pepper) |
| 1 | fat garlic clove |
| 1 red and 1 yellow pepper | roasted, skinned and seeded, then diced |
| 3‑4 | spring onions, thinly sliced |
| 1 | red chili, seeded and finely chopped |
| Juice of 2 limes | |
| 4‑5 tbsp | extra virgin olive oil |
| 1/2 cup | canned tomatoes, chopped (optional) |
| Good handful of coriander leaves, chopped | |
PREPARATION:
- Soak the beans in cold water for 2 hours if using dried beans. Bring to the boil in lots of fresh water, boil rapidly for 10 minutes and then simmer gently for about 35 minutes until just tender.
- Meanwhile, roast red and yellow peppers in a 350ºF oven for about 30-40 minutes. Let cool, then peel and seed peppers.
- Rehydrate the pasilla chilies in a small bowl of hot water for 30 minutes. If using fresh pepper, chop finely.
- Puree the rehydrated chilies and the garlic clove to a paste. Mix this paste into the drained beans together with the remaining ingredients. This will keep for up to four days refrigerated.
Adapted from The Gate Vegetarian Cookbook by Adrian and Michael Daniel (2004, Mitchell Beazley Food)