Black Bean, Corn and Feta Dip - Easy Recipes From Home (2024)

FAQs

How do you dress up black beans from a can? ›

You can enhance canned black beans by sautéing onions and garlic, adding spices like cumin and chili powder, or mixing in diced tomatoes and cilantro for extra flavor. Experimenting with different herbs and seasonings can also make them more enjoyable.

All you do is blend feta, cream cheese, a smidge of garlic, lemon zest and olive oil in a food processor, then spread it on a plate and sprinkle/drizzle with toppings. It all just takes a lazy 30 seconds.

Canned beans are packed in a solution of water, salt, and starch. That solution can leave a glossy film on the beans, interfering with not only mouthfeel (slimy beans are a little off-putting), but also the ability of the beans to cling to other ingredients in the dish and absorb those flavors.

Unlike dried beans, which require soaking and simmering time before they're ready, canned black beans are fully cooked and ready to eat. Canned black beans are typically packed in water with the preservative calcium chloride, as well as sugar, salt, and often other ingredients, such as onion, for flavor.

Feta doesn't melt due to its low pH (~4.7). While the high amounts of acid means calcium is dissolved from the structure, a pH this low causes proteins to interact strongly with each other. Muenster cheese has a moderate moisture content with a good amount of fat and some acidifcation.

French Feta is made with Lacaune sheep's milk (if you remember, that's the sheep breed used for Roquefort production). It has a softer and creamier texture that Greek Feta and a milder, less tangy flavor (though it's sharper than Israeli Feta).

But if you just pop that feta into a tupperware and toss it back in the fridge, in a day or two, you'll have a dried-out, sour chunk of cheese. And nobody wants to eat that. Coming to the rescue is the brine, the cloudy liquid that feta cheese is often packaged in.

You can add crushed whole seeds (coriander, cumin, fennel, mustard, etc.), woodsy herbs (thyme, oregano, rosemary, sage), red pepper flakes, crushed garlic cloves, and of course salt and pepper.

As for herbs, woody types like thyme, sage, and rosemary, are also great — add those in with the beans and water. I always add bay leaves at this stage, too, since they bring that herbaceous can't-put-your-finger-on-it flavor.

I like to sprinkle in some taco seasoning, but you could add whatever spices you like — garlic powder, cumin, and chili powder are all good calls. Then, you mash the beans up directly in the pan and add just a little bit of vinegar at the end to really make the beans sing.

How do you prepare beans from a can? ›