Vegan Friendly
I don’t eat potatoes and find plantains to be an excellent substitute. You may substitute red beans, kidney, or pinto for the black beans listed. I’ve been enjoying the Instapot lately and created this one for an upcoming lunch with vegan friends. You could also make this in your crockpot or on the stovetop. I’m not a huge fan of beans but made an exception for this recipe and I’m happy I did. I soaked the beans for about 24 hours, rinsing them and replacing the water twice. You don’t have to soak them but doing so helps decrease the phytic acid while cooking helps decrease the lectins, which makes them much easier to digest.
Plantains are like bananas but less sweet. They have a more square tip to them. I used semi ripe ones for this recipe, meaning they were green with a touch of yellow on them. You can use all green or semi ripe ones. Feel free to play with the spices to increase the heat as you please. I prefer cayenne, but feel free to add a medium habanero. If you like meat, you can add some ground beef or use beef or chicken bone broth instead of vegetable broth.
Ingredients
– 4 cups of beans (black or red), soaked for at least 12 hours, 24 is better. You can also use canned beans which greatly decreases the cook time.
– 2 medium green plantains, peeled and sliced into ¼ inch thick slices. The greener they are the more difficult they can be to peel. If it’s a true rock, use a knife or let ripen a bit more.
– 1 14.5 oz can fire roasted tomatoes, chopped
– ¾ cup yellow onion, diced
– 1 small green onion, chopped
– 2 cups curly kale, chopped
– ¼ cup chopped cilantro for garnish
– 3 cloves garlic, minced
– 1/3 inch ginger root, peeled and diced
– 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper or to taste
– 2 large basil leaves or 4 smaller ones, plus an extra for garnish
– 3 cups vegetable broth or water
– ½ teaspoon sea salt or to taste
– Dash of pepper or to taste
– 2 Tablespoons avocado or refined coconut oil for cooking
Instructions
1. Soak beans so they are fully covered with water. They will swell. Drain and add fresh water at least 1x in 12 hours, and 2x in 24 hours. Or use organic canned beans.
2. In a large skillet, heat oil and sauté onions for 1-2 minutes, adding the garlic, and plantains next, cook for about 3 minutes.
3. Add in the fire roasted tomatoes, stir them in, and cook for another 3-5 minutes on medium heat.
4. In a blender, add ginger, green onion, cayenne, basil, and a little veggie broth. Blend until creamy.
5. If cooking in an Instapot, add beans, veggie broth, blender contents, and skillet contents and set to the Bean setting. I add the kale after it’s cooked so it doesn’t get ugly brown/green color and cook all the nutrients out. I simply stir it in after the Instapot is finished and put the lid back on. They steam themselves.
If cooking on the stove then add beans and veggie broth to the skillet, bring to a boil and then reduce heat to simmer. Simmer about 20 minutes, then add in chopped kale and cook another 10 minutes. Plantains should be tender.
6. Either way you cook it, finish with a garnish of chopped Cilantro or a fresh basil leaf and serve warm.
Buen Provecho!