Sunday Recipe - Black Beans with Creole Tomato Salsa

From The Gumbo Shop Cookbook
1 lb. black beans
2 quarts water
1 bay leaf
1 tbsp olive oil
1 3/4 finely chopped onion
3/4 cup finely chopped red bell pepper
3/4 cup finely chopped green bell pepper
1 tbsp finely chopped jalapeno pepper (seeded)
1 tsp white pepper
1 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp oregano
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup minced garlic
2 tsp Balsamic vinegar
2 tsp salt

Rinse the beans well and pick through to remove any small rocks and debris. Place them in a large pot, cover with the water, and refrigerate for at least 8 hours.

Set the pot over medium heat and slowly bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to simmer. Add the bay leaf and cook until beans are tender, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours, adding more water if needed.

Meanwhile, in a large heavy skillet heat the olive oil over medium high heat and saute the onions, bell peppers and jalapenos until tender. Stir in the white pepper, black pepper, cumin and oregano and cook for one minute. Add to the cooked black beans and simmer for about 15 minutes.

Heat the 1/4 cup olive oil in a small sauce pan and add the minced garlic. Stir and cook until the garlic is evenly browned then immediately stir into the beans. Add the balsamic vinegar, then the Tabasco and salt to taste. Simmer for another 15 minutes. Serve over rice, garnished with about two tablespoons of Creole Tomato Salsa per serving.

Creole Tomato Salsa
1 lb Creole or other vine ripened tomatoes, chopped
1 minced jalapeno pepper, seeded
1 tbsp fresh lime juice
Tabasco to taste
1 tbsp fresh basil or parsley, chopped
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp olive oil
1/4 cup diced green pepper
3 tbsp minced shallot

Combine all ingredients and refrigerate for at least one hour.

What's Cooking This Weekend

We'll be doing a lot of cooking this weekend. Nick and I had a deal. I wouldn't cook any "major" recipes again until he got to make his favorite gumbo. This is what happens every time the weather changes. When summer hits we're competing over who gets to make the first ice cream, sorbet, pasta salad and the like; with the cool weather that's heading in, it's time for us to start competing for stove time again with hearty soups, stews and gumbos. I snuck in the first dish (red beans and rice), with the agreement that Nick's gumbo would be next. The only problem is, I'm really craving my favorite black bean dish, so in order to keep my promise while also getting my way, he'll be making his gumbo on Saturday and I'll be making my black beans on Sunday. Want to cook along? Here are the recipes:

For Saturday:

Shrimp and Chicken Etouffee originally from Food Network Magazine
Feel free to swap out the shrimp for crawfish, which we often do. Sometimes we leave out the seafood altogether if we know we're going to have leftovers, since it doesn't reheat in the microwave well. You may have noticed in the post that I'm referring to this as a Gumbo but the recipe refers to it as an Etouffee. That's Nick's call. He's pretty emphatic about it. I'll let him explain, but either way, it's delicious.

For Sunday:

Black Beans with Creole Tomato Salsa from The Gumbo Shop Cookbook
Delicious, comforting, and as a bonus, vegetarian. If you're into that kind of thing.