Joe J. - Potluck Southwestern Black Beans

I’ve prepared this for countless potlucks for more than 20 years, and we enjoy it at home, as well.

Serve as a side dish, or as a main dish piled on a bed of brown rice (or any other grain) and steamed greens.

Travels well, too; I'll often eat this cold when I'm driving somewhere and want food with me.

Ingredients:

4 cans black beans, no salt added or low salt, drained & rinsed

1 6 oz can tomato paste, no salt added

4 cloves garlic, minced (or 1 tablespoon dried minced garlic or 1 teaspoon garlic powder)

1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped (parsley works well if you don’t like cilantro)

2 cups low-sodium bottled or homemade salsa (see sample salsa recipe below and comments)

Instructions (salsa recipe and instructions follow):

In a large bowl, blend the tomato paste and salsa using a spoon, then add all the other ingredients. Mix well, and pour into a 9x13 casserole dish or equivalent. Bake uncovered at 350° for 45 minutes.

Homemade salsa recipe and instructions:

1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes, no salt added

1 small yellow or red onion (or 1/2 medium onion), chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 fresh jalapenos, seeded, membranes removed, minced (or use 1/3 cup minced green bell pepper for mild flavor)

1/4 to 1/2 cup cilantro to taste, chopped

Juice of one lime (or more to taste after blending/processing)

1/4 teaspoon Tabasco sauce or other hot sauce (optional)

Briefly pulse all the ingredients together in a blender or food processor, until desired consistency. Taste and add more fresh lime juice if desired.

 Comments:

For bottled salsa, Frog Ranch Salsa is a delicious, very low sodium variety, available in many supermarkets or you can order in quantity online: https://www.frogranch.com/

If you’re preparing this for a potluck where people don’t eat salt/oil/sugar-free (SOS-free), perhaps add salt to taste, and vinegar also works quite well to reduce or eliminate the salt. I’ve used a “saltier” bottled salsa, as well.