Black Beans with Chorizo

In a completely unrelated combination of dishes, I made this Spanish/Mexican bean dip recipe for dinner along with the Thai Chicken Salad.  They didn't exactly compliment each other... more like made for 2 separate meals.

This is a pretty simple bean dip, made with fresh turkey chorizo bought at the farmer's market.  Unlike typical grocery store offerings, their sausages are fresh and uncooked -- it wasn't possible to dice the sausage before sauteing it. It was simply too soft. So I seared the sausages in the wok then removed and diced them.

This recipe is from Cooking Light, June 2011 issue.

Sauteing the chorizo, onion, jalapeno, and garlic

Black Beans with Chorizo
1 Tbsp olive oil
diced Spanish Chorizo (called for 1/2 cup -- I used more, 2 sausage links)
1.5 cups chopped onion
1 jalapeno pepper, sliced
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp ground red pepper
5 cloves garlic, minced
3/4 cup chicken broth
two 15-oz cans black beans, drained & rinsed
1 cup chopped tomato
~ 1 cup shredded cheddar/Monterey Jack cheese

Heat oven to 425.
In a large, non-stick skillet, heat the oil, add chorizo and saute 2 minutes.  Add the onion and jalapeno, saute 4 minutes.  Add the cumin, red pepper, and garlic, and saute 1 minute.  Add the chicken broth and beans and bring to a boil.  Cook 5 minutes.
Spoon bean mixture into 8x8" square pan.
Top with tomato and cheese. Bake at 425 for about 20 minutes.

Bean mixture, ready for toppings

Topped with fresh tomato

Topped with cheese, ready to bake