I absolutely adore the combination of Cuban Black Beans with Chimichurri.  It's a meal I've been making for years. It's super healthy, packs a flavour punch and is super easy to prepare.....not to mention easy on the wallet. ​It's also somehow just really satisfying food. I feel like I'm treating myself when I eat this meal. You can serve the black beans over rice, or just mix roughly equal parts cooked rice and black beans together and serve it that way. I typically eat brown rice at home because it has more fiber and nutrients than white rice, plus it's delicious.

I like lots of chimichurri. If you are making side dishes that are also good with chimichurri you can just double the recipe I shared below. I ate my black beans and brown rice with oven roasted plantains that definitely want chimichurri for dipping, and I also made a simple fresh pineapple & avocado salad with a cumin lime vinaigrette, chili and mint. All three dishes compliment eachother beautifully. You really want to mix and match bites. I use my hands and pick up big pieces of pineapple or roasted plantain and scoop up the black bean & rice mixture with the chimi *SWOON*. I also added some pickled jalapenos on the side and just added a bit to different bites as well for added heat. DELISH!

Serves - 6 to 8
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​Ingredients:
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• 2 cups (1lb) dried black beans, soaked overnight
• 1 large sweet onion, small dice
• 1 green pepper, small dice
• 8 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 tbsp cumin
• 1 tbsp oregano
• 1/2 tsp chile flakes
• 3 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
• A few glugs of olive oil
• S&P
• Pinch of raw sugar

Method:
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1. Saute green pepper, onion & garlic in a bit of veg oil until softened. Season with S & P
2. Add garlic, oregano, cumin, & chile flakes. Cook another couple minutes. 
3. Add black beans (that have been soaked overnight and drained), 5 cups of water, and tomato paste. Bring to a simmer.
4. Simmer until beans are softened. You want the liquid to reduce while the beans are cooking. If you need to add more water because the beans need to cook longer and too much has evaporated, do that. 
5. Towards the end I add in a few glugs of olive oil the red wine vinegar & pinch of sugar. I like to let it hang out on the stove for a bit then I come back to it to adjust the seasonings. Salt & Pepper but also : If you want heavier cumin add more of that                                                                                 If you want it sweeter, you can do that too,                                                                                  If you need to spice it up, sriracha or sambal oelek works

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Ingredients: 
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• 1.5 cups cilantro (leaves and stems, packed)
• 1.5 cups parsley (leaves and stems, packed)
• 4 cloves garlic
• 1/2 cup veg oil (I used sunflower)
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
• sprinkle of chile flakes
• S & P

Method:

1. Blitz everything in a food processor except for the chili flakes (or also leave out the olive oil, then stir the olive oil in by hand after everything else is chopped up. 
2. Adjust seasoning to your taste. You can also stir in more oil /vinegar if you want your chimichurri to be thinner. Sometimes I want it that way. This version is on the thicker side. Both serve their purpose. 

I had some wonton wrappers kicking around so I decided to make these crispy bundles of awesomeness. AKA pan fried dumplings. Whilst reading about traditional chinese pan fried dumplings I learned that a common cooking method is to brown them on one side in your pan then flip them over and toss in a bit of water, cover and steam on the second side to finish cooking. I didn't do that. Maybe next time but maybe not because I kinda love these crispy all over wontons stuffed with seasoned tofu, shrooms and veg. Then dipped in all the sweet chili sauce. Probably not the healthiest situation but sometimes I want vegan treats.

Yield: Enough filling for about 40 dumplings (I used wonton wrappers)

Filling Ingredients:
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• Veg Oil (for sauteeing)
• 1 block firm tofu, pressed
• 1/2 cup dried mixed mushrooms, re hydrated and chopped ( will yield about 1/3 cup chopped)
• 1 cup shredded green cabbage
• 1/2 cup chopped radish
• 1 Tbsp grated fresh Ginger
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/8th tsp chili flakes
• 5 scallions (about 3/4 cup chopped)
• 2 tbsp sesame oil
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tbsp rice wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro

Method:
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1. Preheat your pan and a couple swirls of veg oil.
2. Sautee crumbled tofu (I just use my hands and crumble it into the pan), mushrooms & cabbage for a few minutes. I seasoned with a couple pinches of salt
3. Add radish, ginger, garlic, scallions & chili flakes and cook a little more. (I cooked mine until mostly softened, the cabbage still had a bit of texture.)
4. Add sesame oil, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar and cilantro. Stir it around for another minute or so, taste to adjust any seasoning to your liking then cool mixture before filling your dumplings.

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1. Lay out thawed wonton wrappers.
2. Spoon about a tbsp of the mixture in the centre of each square
3. Dip your finger in water and moisten all four edges
4. Fold two opposite points together to make a triangle pouch. Seal tightly by pinching along the edges
5. Now fold the opposing points together and pinch to seal. It's almost like the dumpling is giving itself a hug!!!
6. To cook,  simply heat some vegetable oil in a pan and fry on all sides until golden brown. About 2-3 minutes per side. 
7. Garnish with sliced scallion and serve sweet chili sauce on the side

Ingredients:

• 1 cup water
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup white vinegar
• 3 T shaoxing cooking wine
• 2 tbsp sambal oelek
• 2 tbsp cornstarch + couple splashes water

Method:

1. Add everything to a pot except cornstarch slurry. 
   
2. Bring to a boil, then add your cornstarch mixed with a bit of water to the pot to thicken.
3. Cool & refrigerate before serving.