Rajas con crema and black beans

Diana Henry
·3-min read
Rajas con crema, black beans and bacon
If you’re short on time, roast the peppers rather than cooking them over a flame - Haarala Hamilton & Valerie Berry

Rajas means ‘strips’, in this case of peppers. I’ve taken a few liberties with this dish. The peppers should really be whole and cooked over a flame but that takes time, so I’ve opted for roasting (it won’t taste as good but I’m thinking about what is possible).

By all means go the traditional route, cooking the whole peppers in the flame, then put the charred peppers in a plastic bag and leave them until they’re cool enough to handle. Halve, get rid of all the gubbins inside and peel off the skins. Proceed as in the recipe. You can add sautéed cubes of bacon or chorizo to the beans.

Overview

Prep time

20 mins

Cook time

50 mins

Serves

4

Ingredients

  • 8 bell peppers, all colours, halved

  • 2 tbsp sunflower or olive oil

  • ½ tsp chilli flakes

  • 200g crème fraîche

  • 100ml full-fat milk

  • 3 tbsp roughly chopped coriander

  • tortillas, warmed, to serve

For the beans

  • ½ onion, finely chopped

  • 1 tbsp sunflower or olive oil

  • 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

  • 2 tsp dried cumin

  • 1 red chilli, chopped

  • 300g tomatoes, skinned and seeds removed, chopped

  • zest of ½ orange and juice of 1 orange

  • 150ml chicken or vegetable stock

  • 1 x 570g jar black beans, drained and lightly rinsed

  • 1 spring onion, finely chopped

  • Juice of 1 lime

Method

Step 1

Heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas mark 6. Put the 8 peppers into a roasting tin where they can lie in a single layer. Drizzle with oil and season. Sprinkle on ½ tsp chilli flakes. Roast until the peppers are soft and slightly charred, about 25 minutes. When cool enough to handle, cut into strips 2cm thick and set aside.

Step 2

For the beans, fry ½ onion in a large pan with the oil until golden. Add the 2 garlic cloves, 2 tsp dried cumin and 1 red chilli, and cook for another couple of minutes. Put the 300g of skinned and seeded tomatoes in the pan and cook until they begin to soften, pressing them down with the back of a wooden spoon

Step 3

Add the orange zest, juice and 150ml of stock, and season. Bring to just under the boil, then turn the heat down and simmer for a few minutes. Stir in the 570g jar of black beans and spring onion. The mixture shouldn’t be too thick, so add a little more stock or water if you need. Simmer for 2-3 minutes, then set aside (or put the pan in the fridge if you want to eat later).

Step 4

Put the peppers in a frying pan and add 200g of crème fraîche and 100ml of full-fat milk. Season and cook gently for about 3-4 minutes until the cream and milk reduce to make a thick stew, but don’t boil the mixture.

Step 5

Heat the beans through, squeeze on some lime and serve on warm plates, topped with a generous spoonful of the peppers. Scatter 3 tbsp roughly chopped of coriander on top and serve with warm tortillas.

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