Herby Black Eyed Beans

Sometimes, when deciding what to make as a side dish that doesn't involve either pasta, rice or potatoes it can get a little overwhelming or puzzling. Afterall I also have polenta, Kaska grains, bulgur wheat, couscous, toasted couscous and various tins of beans at any one time to choose from!   And this is where tinned beans are magic friends! I was a bit of a latecomer to tinned beans, I really disliked baked beans growing up, and thanks to my mum thought I didn’t like kidney beans either (yes I was that fussy fellow diner picking those red beans out, sorry, beans, please forgive me!) but a chance eating out of politeness at a family gathering I realised actually they are rather nice, and indeed edible and I started exploring things with beans… quite often they are just part of the fabric of a recipe – take chilli con carne as a prime example or within the spicy bean burgers I often make, with sweet potato but its not often they are a side dish in their own right – times are a’changin and beans are getting a new lease of life!

Black eyed beans were a random purchase, I think they had various beans & pulses on offer at 4 tins for one whole pound and I stumbled across the b-e-b’s and vaguely remembered that I thought I liked them, and I most definitely do! They are nicely creamy, savoury and overall very versatile bean. Definitely hoarding material friendly!

I loved this dish – in fact we both did and its something that will be on my repertoire of quick and tasty side dishes! The creamy beans, fragrant hints of mint and earthiness from the cumin, plus a little green chilli zing made for a very pleasant meal!

This works really well as part of a mezze type affair, served warm.

1 x 400g tin Black eyed Beans, drained

2 large salad tomatoes, quartered

½ red onion finely sliced

½ tsp dried mint

½ tsp cumin seed

½ green chilli, finely chopped

1 tbsp olive oil

Water, to loosen

Greek yoghurt with a squeeze of lime if you have some, to serve

In a shallow frying pan, heat the oil and fry the onion until lightly golden. Stir in the chilli, tomatoes, cumin, mint, reduce the heat and gently poke around for about 5 minutes or until the tomato chunks are starting to go squishy. Add a little water if its getting too dry but not enough to flood the pans contents either! Stir through the beans and gently cook, covered for a further ten minutes to fully heat through the beans and keeping the mixture moist. Stir occasionally, allowing the tomato to break down into the mixture.

Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Serve on the side of something nice and add a dollop of lime streaked yoghurt on top.