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Say, do you like beans? Well, are you ever in the right place.
That may not look like much, but you're approaching the height of comfort food with this dish right here. And it's dead simple. Simmering canned pinto beans with chipotles en adobo and a bay leaf gets you a pretty great dip by itself. (The heat here isn't intense, but if you're sensitive to it, reduce the chipotles or try substituting them altogether with some liquid smoke.)
But there's no reason to stop there.
While the pintos are simmering, you might as well combine a can of black beans with a couple different spices and let them get soft and saucy. Put them together and you've got a bowl of joy. Serve it all with a salad spiked with citrus—green or otherwise—or use that salad as a taco topper (swap cilantro in for the mint) and tuck this creamy dream of beans into warm tortillas. Did it just get hungry in here?
Spicy & Smoky Two-Bean Dip
2 15-oz can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
3 small-medium chipotles en adobo (seeded, if desired)
1 dried bay leaf
1 cup vegetable broth (not tomato-based), divided
1 15-oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
salt, to taste
Add pinto beans, chipotles, and bay leaf to a medium pot with 3/4 cup of the broth. Stir to combine. In a small pot, combine black beans, cumin, coriander, paprika, and 1/4 cup broth.
Bring both pots to a boil. Reduce heat to maintain a steady simmer. For the pintos, cover and simmer over low heat. For the black beans, simmer uncovered on medium-low (or slightly lower, as needed) heat. Stir both pots occasionally and let cook 10 minutes.
After 10 minutes, the black beans should be hot and still a little saucy. Adjust salt, if needed. Turn the heat off and cover to keep warm. At this point, uncover the pinto beans and let simmer an additional five minutes.
Remove pinto beans from heat and mash thoroughly with a potato masher. The beans should not be soupy, but there may be what seems like some extra liquid remaining, which is good. The beans will thicken shortly. Adjust salt, if needed.
Transfer mashed pinto beans to a serving bowl. Top with black beans and serve at once.