Spring greens and black beans with chorizo

Although you can buy them pretty much all year round these days, spring greens are at their best in the spring. There's a good month still before they go "out of season".

This beauty cost me a mere 59p at my local market and will feed me for the best part of the week. First up was this recipe. As I still have some chorizo left over, I'll use that and more of the greens to make a quick bowl of caldo verde. The last will probably end up in a stir-fry.

This is very quick - if you're organised, you'll be eating it within 20 minutes.

What you need:
A few leaves of spring greens
1-2 small cooking chorizo sausages, sliced into rounds
1/2 can black beans
1 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed
1/2 tsp nigella
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
A little vegetable oil

What to do: 
Heat the oil in a heavy sauteuse over a medium heat then toast the nigella and mustard seeds until they start to release their aromas. Add the chorizo, onions and garlic and fry for about 10 minutes until the onion is translucent.

Quarter the leaves lengthwise and chop. Add to the pan and stir through. Cook for 5 minutes. Add the black beans, stir through again, pop a lid on the pan and cook for another 5 minutes. Dish up.

Cook's tips:
Discard the toughest outer leaves of the greens, especially any that look as if the slugs have had a little nibble on them. Wash the rest thoroughly before use as they can harbour grit and mud.I usually cut the central ribs out of the bigger leaves and discard them as they are too tough to eat. The innermost leaves are the tenderest but all cook very quickly. Spring greens don't lend themselves well to longer cooking, like a savoy cabbage will - fast and dirty is the way to go.

Black beans can be difficult to find. They are a staple in Mexican cooking and usually used to make refried beans, although the tinned refried beans in the shops here usually contain pinto or kidney beans. Sainsbury's sell them in small cartons but the best place to track them down is in an Asian grocery, where they can usually be found alongside the tins of chickpeas. 

Use the other half of the tin to make my Mexican-style chicken.

Nigella is also known as black onion seeds. Most supermarkets stock it in the herbs and spices section, otherwise look in the Asian grocery stores.

Mexican-style chicken and black beans

I have leftover chicken in my fridge and I'm slowly working my way through it. The leftover breast meat went into a sandwich for lunch two days ago. Then last night, being pretty much out of fresh food of any sort, I had a quick rummage to see what might go with the chicken.

A red pepper, a bunch of spring onions, some tomatoes and a few sprigs of coriander were all the veg I owned, apart from a butternut squash, which I have other plans for. Peering into the depths of my larder I spied a small carton of black beans and an idea formed.

I'd originally bought the beans to make quesadilla with, but the only recipe I have for that is for 6 people. Six! But still, with tomatoes and coriander to hand, Mexican seemed the way to go. This makes a generous bowlful.

What you need:
A small bunch of spring onions, trimmed and sliced
A small red pepper, deseeded and cut into strips
Two tomatoes, quartered (or use a dozen baby plum tomatoes)
1 fresh chilli, deseeded and sliced, or a teaspoon of chilli paste from a jar
A small tin or carton black beans in water
1/2 teaspoon of smoked paprika
1 tsp dried coriander
A handful of cooked chicken, cut into chunks or strips
Seasoning
A few sprigs of fresh coriander, chopped

What to do:
Rinse the beans well in a sieve under a running cold tap and leave to drain. Heat some vegetable oil in a heavy sauteuse over a high heat and quickly fry the onions, peppers and fresh chilli, if using, for a few minutes. Turn the heat down a little and add the tomatoes, then fry for a few minutes more. Add the spices and the chilli paste, if using instead of fresh chilli, plus the black beans. If it looks very dry, pour in a little water then put a lid on, turn the heat down low and leave to cook for about 15 minutes until the tomatoes have completely softened. Tip in the chicken, stir through and cook for another 5 minutes until the chicken is thoroughly heated through. Season to taste then serve sprinkled with the coriander.

Cook's tips:
Chilli paste is one of those things I keep in my larder for emergencies as it's an excellent substitute for fresh chillis. You can also add heat with a chilli-flavoured vegetable oil, but I recommend tasting before you add the chilli paste in that case.

The black beans are pretty much an essential, along with the coriander, if you want to keep it Mexican style. You could use any kind of beans, though - with a brown onion instead of the spring onions and a crushed clove or two of garlic, you'll end up with a dish equally tasty but more Mediterranean in tone.