Sunday, August 05, 2012

No-bake black bean dip with grilled pineapple salsa (vegan)

When invited to someone's home, I hate showing up empty-handed. So when B's new boss hosted a going-away party for another staff member, I chose to forgo B's suggestion of a bottle of wine and made a grilled pineapple salsa (recipe courtesy of my friend L) and a black bean dip. We arrived, bowls and bag of Tostitos in hand - and found out it was a catered affair. Luckily, his boss was incredibly gracious and the dips were a hit. I even got a nice compliment from a restauranteur! Plus the white bowls (borrowed from N of A Fine Balance) weren't too conspicuous and matched the caterer's dishware.

To make grilled pineapple salsa:
Cut pineapple into rings about 1" thick, and grill over medium-high heat for about 5 minutes per side. You should see grill marks on the pineapple. While pineapple is cooking, finely dice 1/2 red onion and 1 seeded jalapeno (see note below). Roughly chop 1/4 cup cilantro and grind 1T cumin seeds. Combine onion, jalapeno cilantro and cumin in a bowl and add juice of 2 limes. When pineapple is done, cut into small pieces and add to bowl. Season generously with salt.

Note: My friend uses a scotch bonnet pepper instead of a jalapeno, which gives the salsa really nice heat. But when cooking for people you don't know well, I'd err on the side of less spicy. 

To make black bean dip:
In a blender, combine 2 cans drained and rinsed black beans, 1/2 red onion, roughly chopped, 2T garlic, 2T lemon juice, 2T balsamic vinegar, 2T olive oil, 2T water and a small handful of cilantro. Blend then add salt to taste. If necessary, modify quantities of above ingredients to suit your taste.

Variation: Add chopped red pepper. 

To serve:
Serve separately or together with corn chips. Leftover pineapple salsa would also go nicely with chicken or fish. Leftover black bean dip would make a nice addition to my loaded chicken nachos recipe.



4 comments:

  1. kat, i shared this recipe with my husband. :) he's the cook. he says it sounds good! yes, i will read lyrics or hear a song & sometimes it will take me a minute to remember the name or who it's by, or why the song is familiar, if it's a remake. i can even tell when it's a new song by a band just by the singer's voice.

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  2. This looks soooo amazing! I love bean dips- and no bake? Even better :)

    XO
    www.pearlsandpaws.blogspot.com

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  3. asecondglanceblog8 August 2012 at 08:17

    If your husband ever ends up making it, please be sure to let me know how it turns out!

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  4. so glad you shared this recipe! It was so delish from the little taster you gave me :)

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I genuinely enjoy reading everyone's comments. Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts!