Santa Anna's Black Bean Casserole - Authentic Mexican!

Um Safia's Note:

Published for ZWT III. A delicious vegetarian casserole from Mexico. Easy to make.

• Total Time: 1 hrs
• Prep Time: 15 mins
• Cook Time: 45 mins

Ingredients:

Serves: 4

Yield: 4.0 dishes ...

• 2 cups chopped onions
• 1 1/3 cups chopped green bell peppers
• 14 ounces chopped plum tomatoes
• 3/4 cup favorite salsa
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic
• 2 teaspoons cumin
• 2 (15 ounce) cans black beans, drained
• 8 corn tortillas
• 1 1/2 cups grated cheddar cheese
• 1 cup sliced avocados or 1 cup guacamole, to serve

Directions:

1. In a large skillet over medium heat, combine first 6 ingredients, bringing the mixture to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 5 minutes. Stir in beans.
2. Spread 1/3 of the bean mixture over the bottom of a 13x9-inch pan. Top that with half of the tortillas, overlapping as necessary and half of the cheese. Add another 1/3 of the bean mixture, then remaining tortillas and bean mixture.
3. Cover and bake at 350°F for 30 minutes or until heated through. Sprinkle with remaining cheese and let stand for 10 minutes. Garnish with shredded lettuce and chopped tomatoes.
4. Serve by topping with the sliced avocado or guacamole.

Reviews

[Glori-B]

Great dish! I set this up the night before and just baked it off the next day. Many complements! Very yummy! Make it as written (except for using a blend of cheddar and pepper jack cheese) and will definitely make this again!

[BB2011]

This was a great dish. I followed the recipe except for cutting the amount of onion in half. It was very flavorful. It needed a bit longer in the oven than the recipe stated. It goes well with a side salad.

[Blue Plate Special]

I found the cooking time in step 1 to be insufficient, and the prepared dish lacking in sufficient liquid. I would recommend a saute on the onions and peppers until soft as a first step (like JanuaryBride I found that less onions were really quite adequate), and doubling the amount of salsa. Quartering the tortillas will make assembling the dish much easier, and some may find that they need a bit more herbs (eg oregano in the filling and cilantro on top), spices (eg doubling both the garlic and cumin), and cheese. While I would not call this "Authentic Mexican" it is a nice "warm your cockles" kind of dish that is both easily prepared and served, and one that (with adjustments) I will revisit when looking to use up another batch of beans.