There is a restaurant in my hometown that makes “Latin Street-food,” in my opinion, the best thing on their menu are the beans and rice. The beans, specifically, are salty, savory, and have roasted pepitas (pumpkin seeds) on top to add a perfect crunch. This recipe for black beans is inspired by those and they’re perfect. They’re creamy, flavorful, and reheat perfectly if you make enough for leftovers.

Since moving away from the area, I have found myself craving these beans every once in a while and finally decided to try making them myself! It was so simple and they are absolutely AMAZING.

Miso and Cilantro Black Beans

This recipe uses a 16 oz bag of dried black beans, but feel free to use 2 cans if you prefer. I personally enjoy using the dried bean option!

Ingredients

• 1 16 ounce bag of black beans
• 2-3 tbsp miso paste
• 1/2 cup of fresh chopped cilantro
• salt and pepper to taste
• optional roasted pepitas as topping

Recipe

Steph recently posted a recipe explaining how to cook dry beans, if you’re using this option, please follow her recipe. I will include the basics here:

Soaking

1. Add the dry beans into a bowl with enough room for them to double in size (at least)
2. Fill the bowl with water and cover with a plate
3. Let them soak for 8-12 hours. Overnight works great too.

Cooking

1. After the beans have soaked, pour them into a sauce pot.
2. Add more water into the pot, so the beans are covered in at least 2 inches of water .
3. Add salt into the water to taste.
   • Don’t salt too much initially, wait until it soaks into the beans first so you can see if you need more.
4. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 1-2 hours.
   • Try to have a simmer temperature that does not make the beans jostle around too much.
   • Add more salt if necessary while cooking.
   • Skim the beans that float/any froth off of the top, they are not worth eating.

Adding the Miso and Cilantro

1. Once the beans have properly cooked (you can test this by eating one, if it is soft, it’s ready!), strain out all water and keep them in the pot.
2. Add between 2 and 3 tablespoons of miso, mixing and tasting between adding the second and third. The miso creates a salty and savory flavor, you don’t want it to be too salty!
3. Once you are satisfied with the miso flavor, add chopped cilantro and a bit of pepper.
4. Stir to combine. When stirring, you should notice that the beans start to break apart a bit, creating the look of refried beans. This is what you want!
5. Serve with pepitas on top if you would like and enjoy!

Thanks for reading and let me know if you try this recipe – Hailey

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