Red And Black Bean Pies (with Polenta)

Total Time: 1 hr 30 mins Preparation Time: 30 mins Cook Time: 1 hr

Ingredients

• Servings: 8
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 2 bunches scallions, and green parts separated and thinly sliced
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 (15 ounce) cans pinto beans or 2 (15 ounce) cans kidney beans, rinsed and drained
• 2 (15 ounce) cans black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 (14 1/2 ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 (16 ounce) package polenta, patted dry
• 1 cup fresh cilantro leaves, roughly chopped (more for garnish if desired)
• 1/2 teaspoon hot sauce
• 1 1/2 cups coarsely shredded monterey jack pepper cheese (about 6oz)
• salsa (optional)

Recipe

• 1 preheat oven to 400.
• 2 heat 1 tbs oil in large saucepan over med. heat.
• 3 add part of scallions and garlic.
• 4 season with salt and pepper.
• 5 cook until softened, stirring constatly, 2-3 minutes.
• 6 add beans, tomatoes with juice and 1/2 cup water.
• 7 as you bring to a boil, mash about 1/4 of the beans with the back of a spoon against side of pan to release starch.
• 8 reduce to a simmer, cook until mixture has thickend, 10-15 minutes.
• 9 meanwhile, brush 8 10-12oz ramekins or custard cups with remaining oil. or you can use 2 pie plates. each ramekin serves one, each pie plate serves four.
• 10 slice polenta into 8 rounds and place one in each ramekin. if using pie plates, slice into 16 rounds and place 8 in each pie plate.
• 11 remove bean mixture from heat.
• 12 stir in green part of scallions, silantro and hot suace and season with salt and pepper.
• 13 spoon mixture into ramekins, or spoon over polenta slices in pie plates.
• 14 top with cheese.
• 15 at this point, you can freeze the unbaked pies. let cool completely and cover with foil. then freeze for up to 3 months.
• 16 bake at 400 15-20 minutes.
• 17 let stand 10 minutes before serving.
• 18 if desired, garnish with cilantro and serve with salsa.
• 19 if frozen, no need to thaw before baking: bake frozen and foil-covered 60-70 minutes if in ramekins and 70-80 minutes if in pie plates.
• 20 remove foil and bake until cheese is golden brown, about 15 more minutes.