Seasoned Black Beans

As vegetarians it is important to make sure that we have enough protein in our diets. Many plant-based proteins must be eaten with some sort of grain in order for it to become a whole protein. Luckily for us combining plant proteins with grains is easy and delicious. For example rice and dahl, peanut butter and bread, and of course beans and rice.

The beans recipe for today is best served with rice, and I prefer plain basmati, but I’m sure other rice would be tasty. I also like to make a fresh cucumber tomato salsa (I shared a vague recipe for this in the newsletter a couple weeks ago) with lots of lime juice, cilantro/dhania and salt to serve on the side and a dollop of sour cream or yogurt makes it just perfect.

If you are short on time and just want a quick dinner, you could use canned black beans, but black beans that you cook yourself taste much better. You could also add some vegetables to these beans for additional nutrition and texture. I have added finely chopped kale before, and I once added some finely chopped summer squash which turned out lovely. But most of the time I just make these plain and serve a salsa on the side.