Thursday, 23 July 2015

Carrot puree with black beans

A vibrant, orange and black one-dish meal.  Extra carrot mash (or puree, if you prefer) can be frozen.


Adapted from Nigel Slater’s Eat: the little book of fast food.

Ingredients

600 g (20 oz) carrots, scrubbed and trimmed
20 g (1 ½ Tbsp) butter

30 g (2 Tbsp) butter
1 onion, chopped
2 tsp mustard seeds

30 g (2 Tbsp) butter
1 tsp mustard seeds
2 cans of black beans, drained and rinsed
Chili flakes
Fresh coriander

You will need two large cooking pots: one for the carrot puree and one for the onion-bean mixture.

Melt 30 g of butter in one pan, add 2 tsp of mustard seeds and let them toast a little.  Add the onion and fry until golden brown (this might take a while).

Meanwhile, boil the carrots in deep water until they are tender. With a ladle, scoop out about 500 mL (2 cups) of the cooking water and set aside. Drain the carrots and put them back in the pot with the 20 g of butter and about 150 mL (2/3 cup) of the reserved cooking water. Puree with an immersion blender (or food processor), and decide what kind of consistency you want – mash or soup? Add more water to thin it out, if you like.

When the onion is nice and brown, add another 30 g of butter to the pan plus another 1 tsp mustard seeds and a generous pinch of chili flakes. Add the black beans, stir everything around, cover and let cook until the beans are hot, about 5 or 10 minutes.

To serve, put some carrot puree in each bowl, add a heap of beans and top with some coriander leaves.  Add salt to taste at the table. Enjoy.

Serves two to four.