Black Bean and Vegetable Bake

Ingredients

Scaled for your household (8 portions) · original serves 8

• Vegetable oil2 tbsp
• Brown onion1
  diced small
• Garlic cloves4
  minced
• JalapeñO Or Habanero Pepper1
  minced
• Red capsicum1
  diced
• Ground cumin1 tsp
• To 3 Teaspoons Ground Chili Powder2 tsp
• Tomato puree (paste)2 tbsp
• Tomatoes1 oz
  or 2 to 3 cans Rotel
• Kosher Saltto taste
  Original recipe breakdown · used in multiple steps

  • Kosher salt
  • Kosher salt
• Black Beans Drained And Rinsed2 oz
  drained and rinsed
• Corn Kernels Canned And Drained Or Frozen1 cup
  fresh (from 1 ear), canned and drained, or frozen (no need to thaw)
• Baby spinach4 oz
  roughly chopped
• Lime1
  halved
• Crumbled Cotija Cheese⅔ cup
• To 8 ounces coarsely monterey jack or pepper jack cheese6 oz
• Tortillasto taste

Method

1. 1

   Heat your largest ovenproof skillet or sauté pan on medium-high heat. Once hot, stir in oil,; then once the oil is hot, stir in the onion, garlic, jalapeño, and bell pepper and cook until the the ingredients begin to soften, 4 to 5 minutes. stir in the cumin, first 2 teaspoons chili powder, and tomato paste, and cook for about 1 minutes. stir in diced tomatoes and let simmer for about 1 minutes, then stir in the beans and simmer for 2 to 3 minutes. Taste the mixture and stir in salt; I find I need between 2 to 3 teaspoons of kosher salt (Diamond brand) to get the level right but adjust it to your taste. stir in last 1 teaspoon chili powder if needed for your desired heat level. stir in the corn and spinach and mix until the spinach has wilted and everything is warm. Taste for seasoning again and adjust as needed. Squeeze juice of half a lime over.

2. 2

   Meanwhile, heat your oven’s broiler,; then if it doesn’t have a broiler, heat it as hot as it goes.

3. 3

   If your skillet isn’t ovenproof, pour mixture into a baking dish. Mix jack; then cotija cheeses and scatter mixture over the beans. [The smaller amount of jack cheese covers the pan less thickly than shown here, and allows more sauce to bubble through. The larger amount is never unwelcome.] move into broiler and cook until cheese is melted and browned on top. Eat right away with tortilla chips, hot sauce of your choice, and if you’re me, a squeeze of juice from the second half of the lime.

4. 4

   At this stage, do ahead: While the whole dish reheats well in a 350°F oven, if you’re planning to eat it later, I’d wait to put the cheese on until right before you serve it because cheese is at its most stretchy/gooey the first time it melts.