Lime-Infused Black Bean Stew

In a recent food challenge with my friends, we decided to explore South American cuisine in our cooking. My family is from Trinidad and Tobago, in the West Indies. Trinidad neighbors Venezuela and has been also influenced by the English, Portuguese, East Indian, French, African, and Chinese cuisines, to name a few. Growing up, I was exposed to all of these cuisines in addition to the derived "West Indian" cuisine. 


I was very excited to embark on South American cooking as the flavor brought me home. Using ingredients in my pantry, I decided to do a lime-infused black bean stew, which uses minimal ingredients but packs a lot of flavor.




Lime-Infused Black Bean Stew


Ingredients:
1 can reduced sodium black beans, drained and rinsed
2 limes, juiced
1/2 medium onion, chopped
1/4 cabbage, diced
4 tbsp tomato paste
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1 tsp ground coriander
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
spray canola or olive oil
1/2 cup vegetable broth or chicken broth
1 1/2 cup water


Recipe:
(1) In a medium pot, sprayed with canola oil, brown the chopped onions.
(2) Add the black beans, vegetable broth, and 1 1/2 cups of water.
(3) In a separate saucepan sprayed with canola oil, add the cabbage and cook for 4-5 minutes covered.
(4) In the pot with the black beans, add the vinegar, lime juice, tomato paste, and coriander.
(5) Cook the black beans uncovered until reduced to two-thirds the original volume.
(6) Add the cooked cabbage to the pot of black beans. Season with salt and pepper to taste.


Serve with Tortilla chips (I love the Multigrain Food Should Taste Good chips). Enjoy!