Alex's Black Beans and Rice

Alex is a great cook. Poor guy, though, he works such long hours sometimes that he doesn't have the time or the energy to get into the kitchen. This weekend, though, he was able to make one of his favorites - beans and rice.

The recipe that follows is a rough estimate of what he put in, but the main ingredients are here. He said that they key is to mash some beans separately, and then add them back in, in order to thicken the whole mixture. It's a smokey, tangy, and spicy delight. If you're not into spice, you can leave out the chipotle pepper...but I encourage you to try it!

Ingredients:

1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce, scraped and diced (scraping means to remove the inner seeds which are the really spicy part. Do not use your hands! Hold the pepper with a fork and scrape with a knife. If you want to add smokey flavor without a lot of heat, you can throw in 1-2 tsp of the adobo sauce instead)

1 whole tomato, diced

3 cloves garlic, diced

1 medium onion, chopped

1 TBS oil

1 tsp oregano

1 tsp cumin (to taste)

2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed. Remove 1 cup of beans and mash them with a fork in separate bowl.

Instructions:

Heat up the oil and saute the pepper, onion until soft and translucent. Add the garlic at end, so it doesn't burn. Stir in the mashed beans, along with the tomato. Add in rest of beans and spices. Bring it to boil, stirring occasionally. Turn down heat and allow to simmer for 15 minutes, covered. Uncover and simmer for another 5-10 minutes to thicken. Serve over rice.