Guest Post: Black Bean and Mango Stew with Rainbow Chard

I'm hoping to bring you more guest posters (;for moderns) on future Thursdays, and today, on this Thursday, my friend Amanda will kick things off with the first in a series of three posts she has planned. Amanda first told me about this feast a couple weeks ago and I've been really looking forward to sharing it with you. Now, to our collective delight, it's here. Legal!


I like to throw spur-of-the-moment dinner parties with ridiculous themes. When my friend Sarah and I decided to go see Os Mutantes on a recent Sunday evening, I thought: what better excuse to make an elaborate Brazilian feast? I make no claims for authenticity, but the recipes I'll be sharing with you for the next three weeks were fairly simple and tasted great.

Black Bean and Mango Stew
Recipe adapted from Vegetarian Times, via the International Vegetarian Union
Serves 6

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 medium garlic cloves, minced (or more)
2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and diced (1 to 1 1/4 lbs.)
1 large red bell pepper, diced
1 14 1/2 ounce can diced tomatoes
1 poblano pepper, diced (or you use a jalapeno if you're hot for it)
2 (16 ounce) cans black beans, drained and rinsed
1 ripe mango, pitted, peeled and diced
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1/4 teaspoon salt

In a large pot, heat the oil on medium. Add the chopped onion and stir often for five minutes. Add the garlic and then stir until the onion is golden, around three minutes.

Next, stir in the sweet potatoes, bell pepper, tomatoes (with liquid), and poblano (or other) pepper. Bring to a boil, and the reduce the heat to low. Cover and simmer the stew until the potatoes are tender (but not too soft), 10 to 15 minutes.

Stir the rinsed beans into the stew and simmer gently, uncovered, until heated through, about 5 minutes.

At last, you can stir in the mango and cook until heated through, about 1 minute. Stir in cilantro and salt. Serve hot with the chard and some delicious bread, or wrapped up in a fresh flour tortilla.

While your stew is stewing...

Rainbow Chard
Serves 3

This bitter and delicious side dish will perfectly accompany the spicy sweetness of the stew.

big bunch of rainbow chard
1 tablespoon olive oil
seaweed gomasio, to taste
salt, to taste

Rinse and chop the chard, including the stems. Heat a tablespoon (or so) of oil in a large skillet. Throw in the chard and sauté for around 15 minutes. I topped it with several shakes of gomasio and salt.