Black Beans

Last night our supper club from church got together for the first time in a while and the theme was Mexican food. We were in charge of the beans.

So while both my partner and I had busy days yesterday, him being the good friend helping our friends move and me being the good son going to a family barbecue, we both were looking forward to our supper club reuniting that night. For the first year we met every month and the second year about half as often and then we, well, stopped. Scheduling conflicts and general everyday business got in the way. Deciding to ignore all of that, our friends in the supper club all were eager to start our monthly meals back up.

Each month a host sets up the date and menu or theme and sends out the invites with a suggestion of what to bring. Sometimes a recipe is attached and sometimes just a general side dish request for something that falls into the theme will suffice. Of course, not everybody follows given recipes, me especially, so when we were asked to bring the black beans my initial thought was to start them with bacon, because, well, I’m a baconholic. However, I refrained, instead opting to search through my Mexican cookbook for an authentic recipe, but the only one I could find was one for black bean soup. So I figured to heck with it, I’d try to translate that into a side dish and took a quick glance at the ingredients before making the beans. As it turned out, they were a hit and were extremely delicious… even without the bacon!

This recipe was for a dinner party and was easily enough for twelve to twenty people so feel free to halve or quarter the recipe to suit your needs. Of course, leftovers of this are great for making enchiladas or adding chicken stock and pureeing to make soup, so it might be a good idea to just make the full batch.

Black Beans
4 cans black beans
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 large onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 jalapeños, finely diced
10 sprigs fresh oregano or 2 teaspoons dried
salt and pepper to taste

In a large skillet or stockpot over medium-low to medium heat, slowly cook the onions in olive oil, stirring often to prevent them from browning. Lower heat if needed. When they are just starting to turn translucent add the garlic and season with a couple pinches of salt and pepper and stir together. Add the black beans with liquid, jalapeños and oregano and stir to combine. Simmer for thirty minutes, stirring occasionally. Taste and add more salt and pepper if needed. I usually add a few more cracks of black pepper right before serving.