Mexic-esque Caramelized Corn and Black Beans

In the words of my new favorite video-blogger over at My Drunk Kitchen (It's decidedly PG-13, language wise, and obviously includes drinking. Warning over), I'm pretty much in a constant state of desiring Mexican food.  I'm obligated to tell you that the dish I'm presenting to you isn't really like anything I've eaten while in Mexico.  It's Mexic-esque, or Mexic-ish.  Mexinspired.  It's full of black beans and onions and chiles and onions.  Now, it's also sweet corn season here in the midwest, so we added some Indiana sweet corn to the mix, and the result was delish.

For this dish, we caramelize both the onions and the sweet corn to get some deep sweetness to counteract the starchy beans and the spicy chiles.  This can be served with a sprinkle of cheese over the top or some sour cream or omit both and just slather with some hot sauce (Cholula is my favorite).  Either way, serve it with some tortillas or chips and enjoy!

And now, on with the recipe!

Ingredients:
 - 2 cans of Black Beans, drained
 - 1 medium white onion, chopped finely
 - 2 tbsp. neutral oil
 - 3 tbsp. chopped garlic
 - 3 ears of corn, cut from the cob or 1 1/2 cups of frozen corn
 - 2-5 green chiles, chopped finely, depending on your spice preference
 - 2 tbsp. tomato paste or 2-3 Roma tomatoes, chopped
 - 2 tsp. cumin powder
 - Salt and pepper, to taste
 - Cheese, for serving
 - Tortillas for serving

Directions
 - Add half of the oil to a skillet and allow the oil to get hot.  Add corn.  If cut from the cob, make sure to run the dull side of your knife down the cob to get all of the lovely juices from the cob.  Allow the corn to cook, and start to turn brown.  Really let it caramelize.  Remove from skillet
 - Add other half of the oil to your skillet.  Allow it to get hot.  Put in onions.  Resist the urge to stir too much.  We want the onions to get dark brown around the edges.  This can take about 5 minutes at medium-high heat.
 - Add chopped chiles and garlic.  Stir and allow to cook for 2 more minutes.
 - Add tomatoes or tomato paste and cumin.  If using fresh tomatoes, allow some of their liquid to boil off.
 - Add black beans and allow them to warm through.  If the mixture is sticking to the bottom of the pan, add some water.
 - Add corn back into the skillet.  Allow it all to get nice and hot.
 - Serve.  Try not to eat yourself into a food coma.

It's a fantastic weeknight recipe, and a great way to use some very in-season and very delicious produce.

Enjoy!
ceh.