Did you know that you can make soup or stew in under an hour? Well, you can. You can make black bean stew with corn, chiles, tomatoes and more delicious spices in about thirty minutes (longer if you want to let the flavors bubble together for more time).
It’s amazing.
Stew is one of the easiest meals you can make, because all you do is throw everything in a pot or slow-cooker and you pretty much just leave it there.
I made this on a Sunday, my favorite time of the week to make a pot of something that I can pop on the stove and forget about.
Well, I didn’t forget about it, but it also didn’t require constant attention.
The problem with most stew is that it usually has to cook for a minimum of a few hours.
It, quite literally, stews. Sometimes though, and definitely in this instance, you can just open a few cans, chop an onion, season and fifteen minutes later … dinner.
Well, if you want to get technical, there are a lot of steps in this recipe.
The Steps
One: Make stew.
Two: Change into sweatpants.
Three: Pour yourself a glass of wine and start sipping.
Four: Stir stew.
Five: Repeat Steps 3-4, as desired.
Six: Top stew with shredded sharp cheddar and a dollop of sour cream. Serve with warm tortillas.
And so on…
Do you think you’re up for that challenge?
The Recipe
- 4 teaspoons olive oil
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 can (4½ ounces) chopped green chiles
- 2 cans (15 ounces each) black beans, drained and rinsed
- 2 cans (14½ ounces each) diced tomatoes in juice
- Coarse salt
- 1 package (10 ounces) frozen corn
- In a large saucepan, heat oil over medium. Add onion; cook until softened, 5 to 6 minutes. Add garlic and cumin; cook, stirring often, until fragrant, about 2 minutes more.
- To the pan, add chiles, beans, tomatoes and their juice, 2 cups water, and ¾ teaspoon salt. Bring mixture to a boil; reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer, partially covered, until slightly thickened, about 20 minutes.
- In a blender or food processor, puree 2 cups of the stew. Return the puree to the pan, and add corn; simmer until heated through, about 5 minutes. Serve hot (and per step six, serve with plenty of shredded sharp cheddar and a dollop of sour cream. Serve with warm tortillas).
10 Comments
lisa
October 6, 2009 at 6:19 pmDelicious stew. My new favorite dinner ingredient is black beans. I just made a caribbean black bean dish the other night. I’m adding this to my list of black bean recipes immediately. And a glass of wine to go with it!
Amy J in SC
October 5, 2009 at 10:31 pmOoooh… this looks good – I love black beans.
Sandie (Inn Cuisine)
October 5, 2009 at 8:44 pmI’m big on soups and stews this time of year. Love Lydia’s idea too, for black beans in the slow cooker. Haven’t broken out the crock pot yet, but seems like now is the time!
Erin @ One Particular Kitchen
October 5, 2009 at 7:02 pmOh that looks SO good. I love anything with black beans!
Juliana
October 5, 2009 at 6:00 pmYummie, this soup looks delicious and yet very simple 🙂
Daryl
October 4, 2009 at 7:27 pmthis looks so good and healthy too. I like the fact that it doesnt have alot of ingredients
thatShortChick
October 4, 2009 at 6:10 pmthe addition of warm tortillas makes it sound even more delicious.
Kristen
October 4, 2009 at 11:15 amOh yum, Maris! I love anything with black beans in it. This sounds delicious!
HappyTummy
October 4, 2009 at 9:37 amThat looks absolutely scrumptious, and perfect for this time of year. I make a slow-cooker vegetarian chili, and while it takes about 2 hours, it does give me plenty of time to drink wine while lounging around in my sweatpants! 🙂
I think I’ll have to try yours, as I’m in love with black beans. Love the trick on thickening it by pureeing some of the stew!
Lydia (The Perfect Pantry)
October 4, 2009 at 7:25 amI always have canned black beans in the pantry (and often frozen corn, too). My second favorite thing to do on a Sunday, though, is to use my slow cooker to make a pot of black beans — don’t need to presoak, just put in the cooker for 18 hours with water to cover, on low. Then I have fresh beans whenever I want to make something like your quick-and-easy stew.