Meatless Monday: Black bean and pepper bowl

Last week, my husband and I picked up our first CSA share from Johnson’s Backyard Garden, a certified-organic farm right outside of Austin. You might think it’s a little late in the year to just be joining a CSA, but here in central Texas, the growing season runs year round. (Lucky, I know—but we pay for it in other ways, like three months straight of triple-digit temperatures outside.) In fact, while August is peak harvesting time for fresh fruits and veggies in most parts of the country, the brutal sun and super hot weather make late summer the leanest produce months ’round these parts. The tomatoes, corn, and squash will be back next month once things start to cool off a bit, but right now, we’ve got peppers. I added them to a bunch of different dishes (have to use them up before we get more this week!), but putting them in this black bean bowl was by far our favorite.

This dish is delicious hot or cold. We ate it with cornmeal biscuits, but wheat or corn tortillas would be another good choice.

Black bean and pepper bowl
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 15 minutes

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 small onion, thinly sliced
3 bell peppers, sliced into matchsticks (we had one red, one green, and one purple, but any color combination will do)
2 long sweet peppers, sliced into matchsticks
1 serrano chile, diced (if your family isn’t a fan of heat, leave this out!)
2 teaspoons cumin
4 cups cooked black beans (or 2 16-ounce cans, drained and rinsed)
Salt, to taste
1 large avocado, peeled, pitted, and cut into cubes

1. In a skillet over medium heat, warm the olive oil. Add the onion and cook, stirring every few minutes, until browned, 5-7 minutes.
2. Add the bell pepper and sweet pepper slices and cook another 5-7 minutes.
3. Add the chile and cumin and cook for 30 seconds.
4. Add the black beans and stir the mixture a few times to combine well. Add 1/4 cup water and cook for 2-3 minutes to allow the flavors to combine. Remove from heat.
5. Serve the beans and peppers in a bowl, garnished with chopped avocado. If you’d like, you can stir and lightly mash the mixture so the avocado forms a sort of dressing.

Serves 6
Per serving: Calories 280, fat 10 g, protein 12 g, carbohydrates 39 g, dietary fiber 14 g

-Marygrace, KIWI staff writer

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