leftovers #2 – chilli beans

Years ago my friend Pixie told me she thought about me whenever she made chilli beans. I must have gone through a mad chilli phase back in the days when I soaked and cooked the kidney beans from scratch. I suspect ‘101 ways with beans’ marks a long phase in my shared house years. Sadly, I tend to make up a batch only one or two times a year now. Who knows why we go through such phases in cooking. Last week the SE all bunged up with a cold requested chilli beans. I was thinking a nice healing soup with shitake mushrooms, Chinese greens, chilli and lime – but no it was beans please, so I took on the task at hand with more than a whiff of nostalgia.

I don’t know why I haven’t posted such a recipe before, but Summer beans is very similar – just swap the olives and rosemary with chilli, coriander and cumin.

I made a large pot to get us through a few days and it was a real hit. Tomato and spicy, with the beans for ballast. But no matter how much I like something the first time round, I get bored with repeats. For brunch the next day I heated leftover chilli beans in a small fry pan, adding a little water to loosen the sauce. Once they’d started to heat I slid in an egg to poach – just leave it on low and be patient. About 10 minutes of the merest simmering in the bean sauce delivered a baked egg delight – kind of Huevos Rancheros plus beans. Carefully slide the beans and egg intact on top of a toasted tortilla or in this case a thick, gluten-free flatbread that I was road testing from my local convenience store.

It’s a toss up what was better – straight chili beans with brown rice the night before or this heartening brunch the next day. Regardless, I’ll try not to leave it so long between pots of chili next time


don't you think the egg looks a bit like a map of Australia? Darn it, I should have sold it on Ebay!