Cacahuate beans with chorizo, oyster mushrooms and nopales – Guestpost by What’s Cooking
As I’ve already told you when I did a guestpost for Ben from What’s Cooking Mexico? a few weeks ago in his series What’s Cooking World? I am a big big fan of his blog which is all about Mexican cuisine. Ben and I started blogging at about the same time way back in 2007 for him and 2008 for me. I’ve followed him ever since the very beginning.
You might find quite a few ingredients on his blog that are not your every day supermarket item, but that’s part of what I love about his recipes. It makes me look for other ingredients even though sometimes it can be a pain to find them, but thank god for online shopping..;) What did we ever do before the internet anyway? I’m really happy that Ben agreed to share one of his delicious recipes here on my site, so I’m giving it over to Ben Herrera!
I’m really honored to write a guest post for Simone’s blog. I’ve been following her blog for a few years, when we both were just newbies in this business, and ever since the beginning she’s been one of my favorite food bloggers and photographers. Her witty writing and beautiful photography keep me coming back for more.
Cacahuate
As some of you who know me might know, I live in Mexico City and I’ve taken up the delicious task of exploring the ingredients of Mexican cuisine. The latest ingredient I’ve been exploring is beans, such amazing little fellows. Beans have always been one of my favorite ingredients to cook with, but after learning about their history, properties, health benefits and varieties I can appreciate them even more.
In Mexico, beans are the second most important crop, right after maize, another amazing Mexican ingredient. For thousands of years they have been part of the diet of many civilizations of the American continent. I won’t bore you with a lot of history and facts. I will rather share a delicious recipe to prepare and eat beans. They’re not only very good for you, but also very delicious.
Last month I went to the ice cream fair in a small town in the outskirts of Mexico City and found a bunch of beans I had never seen before. One of the kinds was called cacahuate (peanut) bean. I was eager to try new varieties so I bought half a kilo and decided to make them with chorizo (Mexican sausage), oyster mushrooms, and nopales (cactus paddies). The result was a very healthy and delicious lunch.
Cacahuate beans with chorizo, oyster mushrooms and nopales
Ingredients:
- 3 cups cooked cacahuate beans (with the broth they were cooked in *)
- 100g Mexican chorizo
- 1/2 onion (chopped)
- 1 clove garlic (minced)
- 1 fresh jalapeno pepper (seeded and sliced)
- 100g oyster mushrooms (diced)
- oregano
- rosemary
- basil
- 4 small nopales (grilled *)
- 4 scallions (grilled)
Directions:
In a heavy skillet cook the chorizo until it starts to brown.
2. Sautee onion and garlic in the chorizo fat.
3. Add jalapeno and beans. Bring to a boil.
4. Add mushroom, spices and adjust seasoning.
5. Reduce heat to low and simmer for about 7 minutes.
6. Serve on a plate and top with grilled nopales and scallions.
Note
- You might use other type of beans. Pinto or lima will work fine.
- Cooked or dried beans, Mexican chorizo and fresh nopales can be purchased at a local Mexican or Latino market. Some supermarkets that carry Latino products might have them.
- If you can’t find fresh nopales, you can substitute with bell pepper or green beans. Many people say the taste is similar.
- Chorizo can be substituted with Italian sausage. In this case you should cut it in small pieces.
- This recipe can easily become vegetarian by skipping the chorizo. Beans are a great source of protein and they are a good substitute for meat.
Appetizer
Asian
Bread
Breakfast
Desserts & other sweets
Healthy
Thank you for introducing me to Ben, I too am into cooking with beans, this is a recipe I am adding to my to try folder.
Thank you Ben for introducing me to cacahuate beans, Iwill be looking for it at the food markets.
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Simone (junglefrog) — April 25th, 2012 at 09:58
I also had not heard about those beans before but will definitely be on the look out for them!
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Ben — April 25th, 2012 at 17:14
I hope you can find them. They’re delicious!
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What a fabulous guest post! Ben always makes wonderful food and this dish is no exception. A great combination of ingredients.
Cheers,
Rosa
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Simone (junglefrog) — April 25th, 2012 at 09:59
Absolutely true! Now I just have to go and find the ingredients..
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Ben — April 25th, 2012 at 17:39
Thanks Rosa!
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It’s an honor for me to write for your blog, Simone
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Simone (junglefrog) — April 25th, 2012 at 09:59
And it’s an honor to have you here Ben!
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That is a great guest post! I am not a fan of oyster mushroom but I love the flavor profile used and would love to try it out with some other mushrooms!
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Simone (junglefrog) — April 25th, 2012 at 10:00
I have some sort of love hate relationship with oyster mushrooms. In a lot of cases I find them too slimy almost but yeah, this would work with other mushrooms as well!
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Ben — April 25th, 2012 at 17:15
Definitely! This can work with any other type of mushroom.
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Looks delicious! And the photography is fantastic.
Filing this one for when my Jalapeños are growing
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Simone (junglefrog) — April 25th, 2012 at 10:00
How are your jalapenos doing? We’re actually growing a red chili at the moment as a test…
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Ben — April 25th, 2012 at 17:38
I need to start growing my own chiles. That must be fantastic!
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Hi, Simone. I came here from Ben’s blog and am very happy to discover yours.
Ben, the recipe looks and sounds even better than I have imagined. Nopales and cacahuate beans sound very exotic to me. Excellent guest post!
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Thats a very informative post too. lovely combination of ingredients. Ben has a great site:)
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Ben — April 25th, 2012 at 17:38
Thanks Nina!
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Mexican cuisine is so underexplored here in Montreal… We mostly have Tex Mex restaurants, and very few authentic Mexican places. Thank you for introducing us to this delicious-looking dish!
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Ben’s work is always a treat … beautifully presented and narrated … and always informative.
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Wow, this meal sounds delicious and quite filling! I love meals that I can eat a relatively small amount of food and feel like I have had a feast. I am not sure how well I can find these ingredients, but I do have a couple Hispanic markets around my house so it shouldn’t be too hard.
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