What Covid-19 taught me is that I am a hoarder of food! And that isn’t always a bad thing. Especially with shops shut for months and so many mouths to feed stuck at home. I am also a a creative cook – not much of a recipe person at all. So I had a ton of fun while stuck at home in my kitchen! This recipe was one that came out of my overstocked pantry, when fresh ingredients were at their lowest! There was also a sudden supply of vegetables that usually ended up in the now-much-closed restaurants. Orange sweet potatoes, not much seen in Mumbai otherwise, suddenly became plentiful.

What do you make when you have orange sweet potatoes, a can each of black-eyed beans, tomatoes, and corn, and lots of processed cheese? A pie of course! And this is as easy-peasy as it gets, but flavourful and healthy too!

Just sautée your canned veggies with some garlic, onions, and green peppers. Throw in your favourite chilies, or whatever you have in stock. I like it spicy – so I used ancho chilies and chili powder, and of course, pepper. Layer the veggies in a baking dish, and make your crust.

The crust is yummy and easy to make. Just boil your sweet potatoes and mash them with as much butter as your arteries can tolerate! 😀 The more butter the better (I am a Punjabi and I love my butter!) Spread it evenly over the vegetables and cover with cheese. In she goes into a nice hot over until it forms a crunch on top! There you go! Your Covid-19 Black Bean and Sweet Potato Pie!

Black Bean and Sweet Potato Pie

Ingredients:

• 500g sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into large chunks
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 onion, minced
• 1 large green pepper, diced
• 400g can black-eyed beans, drained and rinse Buy our favourite black beans
• 400g can chopped tomatoes
• 326g can of sweet corn, drained Buy our favourite can of corn
• 1 teaspoon ancho chilies Buy dried ancho chilies
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon red chili powder
• 1½ teaspoons salt – divided
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 3 tablespoons fresh oregano or 1 teaspoon dried oregano Buy our favourite dried oregano
• 3 tablespoons butter (about 40g)
• 1 cup cheddar or processed cheese, grated (about 110g)
• 3 tablespoons fresh coriander, chopped
• 3 tablespoons olive oil

Instructions:

1. Boil the sweet potatoes for 15 minutes, or until tender and soft enough to mash.
2. Preheat the oven to 180°C.
3. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large, deep, non-stick frying pan over medium heat. Add the garlic and onions, and cook for 3–4 minutes, or until the onions become translucent.
4. Stir in the peppers and sauté for another 2 minutes.
5. Add the drained beans, tomatoes, corn, chillies, cumin, coriander, red chilli powder, and 1 teaspoon of salt. Stir well.
6. Add the black pepper, sugar, and fresh oregano.
7. Cover, reduce the heat, and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
8. While the beans are cooking, mash the sweet potatoes with the butter until smooth. Mix in the remaining ½ teaspoon of salt.
9. Spoon the bean mixture into an 8-inch pie dish and sprinkle with fresh coriander.
10. Sprinkle ¾ cup of cheese evenly over the beans.
11. Spoon the mashed sweet potatoes on top, then sprinkle with the remaining grated cheese.
12. Bake for 20 minutes, or until the cheese is nicely browned.
13. Serve with salsa and sour cream.

Serves: 4 people

Prep Time: 12 minutes

Cook Time: 46 minutes

Critical Ingredients:

If you don’t have black beans, you can use kidney beans. One can is 1.75 cups cooked beans. You can substitute a can of red kidney beans, or soak and cook 2/3 cup dry kidney beans as a substitute. If you don’t have ancho chilies, you can use smoked paprika or Mexican chili powder.

No oregano, leave it out. Fresh coriander/cilantro is adequate. Even without either, you get a lot of flavour! You could use thyme as well. Don’t have canned tomatoes?  Throw in four juicy ripe red tomatoes.