Chili Bean Salad

It’s mango and avocado season now in Nicaragua, and though I unfortunately overdosed on mango last year and cant stand the sight of them this time around, it’s still a gastronomically exciting time here.  Produce is hitting some wonderfully low prices and even strawberries and blackberries are making an appearance in the market here in Jinotega. 

Unfortunately we can’t enjoy this bounty all year round, so I’ve developed some staple recipes for tomatoes, onions, and beans…crops that can be found all year round.  Gallo pinto (pictured to the left: rice and beans) is the dish of choice for Nicas...I make a lot of chili, but recently it has just been too hot to want to eat chili, so I decided to make this chili themed bean salad that I really encourage you to try (measurements are not relevant for this or really any of my recipes):

•          Black beans (I used black beans since they were cheaper that day at the market, about $0.40/pound.  Black beans stay at low prices here since Nicas, well, just don’t like them, but this recipe would be good with red beans too)
•        'Plain Yogurt
•        'Chopped tomatoes (I bought 4 pounds of tomatoes for $0.50 the other day! I had to figure out something to do with all those tomatoes)
•       'Chopped onions
•       'Optional: chopped ANYTHING else, I used cucumbers last time
•        'Seasoning: Salt, pepper, cumin, smoked paprika

Mix together, smash up the beans a little, and enjoy.  The cumin gives it that good smoky chili flavor, but there is no cooking involved (unless you’re using dry beans). 

more food/beauty tips to come...