black bean Archives - A Calculated Whisk

We had a party last night! The main feature was the decorate-your-own cupcake station (more on that later). However, we did have one delicious thing from the savory side–this queso! I highly recommend it.

This is adapted from a recipe on How Sweet It Is, one of my very favorite food blogs. I was so excited that Jessica posted this just in time for me to make it for my party! All the recipes I’ve tried from her site have been fabulous. Plus, her blog is really fun to read. I had to take out the chorizo because of all my vegetarian friends. I’m sure it would be fabulous with sausage, but it’s hard to imagine it being more fabulous than it already is!

This morning, I used the leftover queso to make delicious chilaquiles. I fried up some onions and garlic, added two eggs and a handful of crushed tortilla chips, and stirred in a few big dollops of this queso. I served it with sliced avocado, cilantro, and scallions with a squeeze of lime. Most delicious hangover cure ever!

Ingredients (serves 8 as an appetizer):

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 shallot, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1-2 jalapeños, deseeded and diced (I used 1, but the dip was not very hot. Try 2 for more spice, or use the seeds.)
1 15 ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 1/2 cups beer (your favorite kind–or use a Mexican beer)
1/4 teaspoon cumin
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
12 ounces freshly grated white cheddar cheese
Chopped scallions and cilantro for garnish

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-low heat. Add the shallot, jalapeño and garlic and saute until fragrant. Stir in the black beans, and raise the heat to medium. Add the beer and cumin and stir to combine. Cook for five more minutes, until some of the beer has bubbled away.

Add the cream cheese, and stir until melted and the mixture is smooth. Add the cheddar and stir until smooth and creamy.

Serve with scallions and cilantro on top, and a big basket of chips for dipping.

If the queso hardens up, you can microwave it for a minute or so with a bit of water and stir until it’s creamy again.

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This is a delicious pantry soup, meaning you can make it with ingredients that might already be in your pantry. It’s healthy and filling, and topped with lots of good stuff. Also, it comes together in less than half an hour and packs a little mini punch. Yum!

P.S. I am calling this a bisque, because it sounds so much fancier than soup. However, according to Wikipedia, bisques have to be made with seafood stock. Oh well! No seafood here, but still delicious.

Ingredients (serves 3-4):

1 tablespoon butter or olive oil
1 1/2 cups frozen corn
1/2 onion, chopped
1 teaspoon garlic paste
Salt and pepper to taste
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 15 ounce cans of black beans
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon cumin
1 packet Sazón Adobo seasoning
A few pinches cayenne pepper, to taste
1 cup water
Splash of silver tequila (optional)
3 tablespoons cream or coconut milk
Chopped fresh cilantro and scallions, for serving

Heat the butter or olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and corn, and raise the heat to medium high. Stir in the garlic paste and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until golden brown, about ten minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.

In a saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the beans along with their liquid. Add the oregano, cumin, Adobo seasoning, cayenne, and water. Stir to combine. Simmer for ten minutes. Towards the end of the cooking time, stir in the tequila and let it bubble away for another minute or so.

Remove soup from the heat. Using a slotted spoon, remove about half of the beans and puree them in a food processor until smooth. Return the puree to the saucepan, add the cream, and stir to combine.

Serve the soup with a generous scoop of corn and onions, and a sprinkling of scallions and cilantro.

Creamy Beer & Black Bean Queso

Black Bean & Corn Bisque