Black Bean Stew with Cornbread Dumplings Served Over Collard Greens

It is so rare for my fabricated recipes to turn out near to perfect. Typically I develop something in my mind and, once made, find multiple ways in which I might tweak the recipe to perfect the flavors and texture. Tonight, I nearly nailed my imagined meal on the head. It's so close to perfect, it seems like it should have taken much more work.

My inspiration for this meal:
Healthy eating in Brazil
A craving for black beans, possibly in soup form

As I developed in my mind, this recipe started as a very liquid black bean soup with collard greens, similar to the kale in Zuppa Tuscana at Olive Garden. Then I thought, "What about some dumplings?" Thus the idea to make cornbread dumplings. I also thought some canned pimentos might be a nice color and flavor addition to the soup. Imagine it, a black soup with bits of bright green and red popping up here and there.

In the making, I added as I went, pulling from some Puerto Rican flavors, Southern flavors, and cooking methods I have already adapted. The result was a flavorful, but not oppressive, black bean stew with savory cornbread dumplings floating on top. I spooned this over collard greens that I cook enough to soften, but not turn to complete mush. I appreciate greens with a little bit of body left to them. It makes the texture so much more appealing. The only adjustment I might make in the future would be to add a tablespoon of sugar to the cornbread dumplings to create an interesting blend of savory and sweet.

Black Bean Stew with Cornbread Dumplings Served Over Collard Greens

Black Bean Stew
2 tbsp oil
1 jalapeno, seeded and sliced into thin half-moons
1/4 c chopped onion
1/2 a canned pimento, chopped
3 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced thin
pinch of ground cumin
pinch of dried oregano
2 cans black beans, undrained
1 1/2 cans water
1 tsp chicken bouillon
1/2 tsp sazon (red flavor packets used in Puerto Rican cooking)
1/2 tsp adobo

Cornbread Dumplings
1 c flour
3/4 c cornmeal
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp sugar, optional
3 tbsp butter, softened
3/4 c milk

In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat.
Add jalapeno and onion, cooking until soft.
Add garlic, pimento, cumin, and oregano, cooking until garlic is soft and mixture is aromatic.
Add black beans, water, chicken bouillon, sazon, and adobo.
Simmer for 20 minutes.
While stew is simmering, mix together flour, cornmeal, baking powder, salt, and sugar.
Cut in butter until in small pieces like coarse meal.
Stir in milk, just until moistened. Do not over stir.
Make sure stew is only simmering, if it is boiling, reduce heat until it is simmering.
Drop in all of the dumpling dough in rounded tablespoon measures, evenly distributing over the surface of the stew.
Simmer uncovered for 10 minutes.
Cover and simmer 10 more minutes.
Spoon stew and dumplings over collard greens.

Collard Greens

1 tbsp oil
1/4 c onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
1/2 a canned pimento, chopped
1 large bunch collard greens, stemmed, sliced into 1/2 in strips and washed well

Heat oil in a heavy skillet over medium heat.
Add onion and cook until soft.
Add garlic and pimento and cook until garlic is soft.
Add collard greens and cover, stirring occasionally.
Cook until greens are soft, but not mushy.