Hello all you readers of the Muffin Myth! I’m Erika from The Pancake Princess and I could not be more pleased to have the opportunity to guest post on Katie’s lovely blog. I’ve been enamored of her real food-focused blog ever since discovering date paste in her amazing no-sugar banana branners. Katie, I hope your ankle heals fast and well and thanks for having me!
This is a recipe for one of my favorite vegetarian creations I’ve made in a while and I think it was one of my boyfriend’s too, judging from the way he went back for thirds. This was born of my continual search to find delicious things that can be made on the stovetop rather than in the oven while Houston shoulders the dog days of summer.
I first made this black bean casserole at a friend’s house (she who doesn’t fear the oven…or the air-conditioning bills). The result: a heavy, bubbling pan of cheese over layers of blistered peppers and perfectly-spiced quinoa jumbled into creamy refried bean-like black beans. The dish, which had us raving for the entire time we ate it and for a good while after, took probably close to two hours to make including food prep, assembly and baking.
I realized that the same effect (most importantly: the bubbling cheese) could probably be achieved on the stove. This stovetop version goes lighter on the beans, heavier on the vegetables, and decreases the overall volume for an amount that can fit in a frying pan. The entire process will take between 30-40 minutes, although you could speed it up with pre-chopped vegetables. The original casserole could serve a party with nine hefty servings; this version is more of a weekday creation for three or four.
Get excited, meat lovers—from a distance, the mixture of black beans and quinoa bears a frightening resemblance to ground meat (but tastes even better). Enjoy!
INGREDIENTS
2 bell peppers, diced (any color)
½ cup corn
½ cup quinoa, uncooked (you can use up to 1 cup of quinoa for a heartier dish)
½ teaspoon chili powder
½ teaspoon cumin
salt and pepper to taste
½ tablespoon oil
1 cup chopped onion (about half a large onion)
1 jalapenos, seeds and ribs removed, minced
¼ teaspoon garlic powder
1 15-oz can black beans, rinsed
1 tomato, chopped
½ cup shredded Mexican cheese
diced green onions
INSTRUCTIONS
For the peppers:
Set a medium saucepan over medium high heat (you will use this later to cook the quinoa). Add the diced peppers and corn and do NOT stir—this gives them a brown roasty look. Wait for 2-3 minutes before stirring, then let them “roast” for another few minutes before removing from the pan.
For the quinoa:
In the same now-empty saucepan, cook quinoa as directed. While quinoa is cooking, start the black beans (below). Once quinoa is cooked, stir in the chili powder and cumin. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.
For the black beans:
Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion, jalapeno and garlic powder. Saute for 4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add in the rinsed black beans and about 1 ½ cups of water (filling up the empty bean can should be about the right amount). Bring mixture to a boil and cook for 5 minutes. Lower heat to medium and cook for another 10 minutes. Use a fork to mash beans to desired consistency—I mash most of them, leaving just a few beans whole. The mixture should be thick, not watery. If you still have a lot of moisture, let it cook out by keeping it on the heat for another few minutes.
To assemble:
With the black beans still over medium heat, spread the quinoa mixture evenly on top of the black beans. Add peppers, corn, and chopped tomato. Sprinkle with cheese and cover; let warm through for two minutes or until cheese is melted. Sprinkle with green onions and EAT!
I love spooning the mixture inside a giant lettuce leaf, rolling it up and eating it like a wrap. This would also be awesome atop nachos. My boyfriend, of course, loves it as is.
Text, recipe, and photos courtesy of The Pancake Princess
Allison says
Made this twice in the past two weeks and my boyfriend and I both love it! We put a little sriracha on top. I eat it as is but he's been using corn tortillas for tacos.
themuffinmyth says
Mmmmm, I bet it's great as tacos!
gottagetbaked says
This looks sooooooooo ridiculously good. It's like healthy nachos! My apartment has felt like the surface of the sun lately so anything made on the stovetop without resort to my oven is welcome. Great guest post, Erika, and thanks for introducing me to this awesome blog!
themuffinmyth says
Thanks for stopping by! I'm thrilled that Erika was able to post here this week.
erika says
Yay! Katie is awesome 🙂
Erin's DC Kitchen says
Yum, thank you for sharing a Mexican inspired quinoa recipe! I have so much unused quinoa because my husband really doesn't like the taste, but he will gobble up anything with cumin and chillies. Perfect!
themuffinmyth says
I think this would be a perfect recipe for a quinoa hater because it gets blended in with so much other stuff.
Erin's DC Kitchen says
I made it last night and he loved it!
erika says
So good to hear! Glad he liked it :))
kellie@foodtoglow says
This looks fantastic! I would love to have enough leftover for breakfast, topped with a poached egg 😀 Thanks Erika. I am glad to hear you are on the mend, Katie. That's quite an impressive piece of kit on your leg. Poor you !
erika says
Oh, that is a FANTASTIC idea! I'm definitely going to try that the next time I make this!
themuffinmyth says
At least it comes off so I can have showers, right? I can't even imagine being in plaster all this time! I think you're bang on with the poached egg idea. I can't wait to make this!
Christine says
This looks like perfect karmic timing! I am auditioning this tonight. I need a fab side dish (and veg option) for a party of forty+ people this weekend. Do you think it would multiply to that scale well? Also, would you share oven directions? My oven roasters are bigger than my fry pans so I need the time savings of making as few batches as possible. THANK YOU!
erika says
Woohoo! Christine--I adapted this from this Pinch of Yum recipe: https://pinchofyum.com/southwestern-quinoa-and-black-bean-casserole
Her oven-based recipe serves 9 pretty hefty servings, but I think it could easily be doubled or tripled if you need more! I personally thought she used a lot of black beans and prefer a higher vegetable:bean ratio, but of course, adapt to your preference and ingredients!
Let me know how you like it! 🙂
Christine says
Erika-thank you. This was fantastic. Husband wants it spicier so I think I'll do two versions for our party, one with extra jalapeno. Also, I used feta. Have not found easy source for mex cheese. it doesn't melt, but tasted great. Love the egg idea below too. May try that tmrw with some leftovers! (Ours stretched as we had boer sausage to use (not in the dish!) I served ours with some scoops chips (ok it was a bribe to sneak beans and peppers past them). Yum yum yum yum yum AND GOOD FOR YOU! Pinning to favs and signing up to yr blog. (Mmm pancakes...)
erika says
Awesome!! Thanks for letting me know! 🙂 Yeah, I'm kind of a spice wimp but I admire the extra jalapeno move! You know, I actually used a combo of shredded mozzarella and cheddar cheese on one of my versions and I thought it was great--nice and melty even if not authentic! But feta sounds excellent too. Thanks for the love, lady! <3