Greens and Beans with Red Chile and Fresh Cheese | Rick Bayless

Besides flour, it seems like beans of all kinds are in high demand during the lockdown phase. Beans will keep for a while in the pantry; I don’t mind stocking up on them. Meanwhile, they are good sources of protein and fiber and contain essential vitamins and minerals. Once I get my hands on some wonderful heirloom beans, I know Rick Bayless has plenty of bean recipes on offer. He doesn’t disappoint with this “taco Tuesday” recipe, and the youtube video too, on how to make the greens and beans with red chile and fresh cheese. I need the detailed instructions since this is all new to me.

The recipe calls for guajillo chile with which I have not cooked before. For all I can tell, it’s a dry chile, as big as the size of my palm with a deep red color. I follow Rick’s instruction to toast the dry chile briefly in a hot pan, deseed, and then soak in water for 20 minutes. Next step is to blend the rehydrated chile together with garlic, oregano and pepper along with the soaking water. Finally, reduce the sauce until it attains the consistency of a tomato sauce.

Don’t let its appearance fool you. It may look like a dark tomato sauce, but it has a kick of heat with a touch of rich sweetness. However, unlike the tomatoes, one or two chile peppers are enough to make the sauce for the dish. The guajillo chile sauce tastes more complex and smoky than a tomato sauce. It makes an exciting and bright companion to beans and some fresh arugula from the recent CSA box. To serve, I toss some feta on top.

My husband loves the dish but prefers more heat. That I’d agree: guajillo’s heat is rather mild, similar to that of jalapeño. The bag of guajillo chile is unlikely to last long in this household.

Print Recipe

Greens and Beans with Red Chile and Fresh Cheese

Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 8 medium-large (about 2 ounces) dried guajillo chiles, stemmed and seeded
• 3 garlic cloves, peeled and roughly chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano, preferably Mexican
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• Salt
• Sugar
• 1 medium bunch (about 12 ounces) black (aka Tuscan or Dinosaur) kale, stems removed, cut crosswise into ½-inch strips—you should have about 6 cups
• 115-oz can black beans, drained
• 1/4 cup crumbled Mexican queso fresco or other fresh cheese such as feta or goat cheese
• 12 corn tortillas

Instructions

1

Heat the oil in a large (4-quart) saucepan over medium. One or 2 at a time, fry the chiles until they’re aromatic and change color (they’ll lighten a little on the inside and brown on the outside), 10 seconds or so on each side. Remove to a bowl, cover with hot tap water, weight with a plate to keep them submerged and rehydrate for about 20 minutes. Set the pan aside.

2

Scoop the chiles into a blender jar, along with 2/3 cup of the soaking water.

3

Add the garlic, oregano and pepper and blend to a smooth puree. (If the mixture won’t move through the blender blades, add a little more of the soaking liquid to loosen it up.)

4

Return the oily pan to medium-high heat. When hot, set a medium-mesh strainer over the pan and press the chile mixture through. Discard the skins and seeds left in the strainer. Cook, stirring nearly constantly, until the consistency of tomato paste, about 4 minutes. Pour in 3/4 cup water, reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring regularly, until the sauce takes on a medium consistency, about 5 minutes. Taste and season highly with salt, usually about 1 teaspoon; adding about ½ teaspoon sugar will bring out the natural fruitiness of the chile and balance the heat a little.

5

Add the kale and beans to the sauce all at once, tossing to coat with the guajillo sauce. Cook, stirring often, until the kale wilts, about 3 minutes. Transfer themixture to a warm serving bowl. Sprinkle the queso fresco on top and you’re ready to serve. If you’re like me, that’ll include plenty of warm tortillas for making tacos.

Notes

https://www.rickbayless.com/recipe/greens-and-beans-with-red-chile-and-fresh-cheese/