Reader recipe: creamy black bean jackets
Serves: 2, easily doubled
Prep time: 25 minsTotal time: 
Recipe photograph by Toby Scott
Reader recipe: creamy black bean jackets
Kate Longden from Hampshire entered our baked potato recipe competition and won with her Mexican-inspired filling; a plant-powered combination of textures and flavours. ‘I cook in a mix-and-match fashion; prep a sauce, decide on plants and protein to add (black beans here), then top with a separate element to add texture or zing. You can also eat the beans and topping with rice or sautéed new potatoes. Enjoy!’
Serves: 2, easily doubled
Prep time: 25 minsTotal time: 
See more recipes
Nutritional information (per serving)
Calories
610Kcal
Fat
25gr
Saturates
10gr
Carbs
70gr
Sugars
7gr
Fibre
15gr
Protein
18gr
Salt
0.2gr
Ingredients
- 2 baking potatoes
- 1½ tbsp dried ancho chilli flakes
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 large tomatoes, roughly chopped
- 1 garlic clove, crushed
- 1 x 400g tin black beans, rinsed and drained
- 50g soured cream, plus extra to serve
- zest of 1 lime, plus juice of ½
- small handful parsley, chopped
- 20g whole almonds, roughly chopped
- 20g butter
Step by step
Get ahead
Make the black bean topping up to 2 days ahead and then chill, or freeze. Gently reheat to serve.
- Preheat the oven to 200°C, fan 180°C, gas 6. Scrub the potatoes, prick with a fork and sprinkle with a little salt to stick to the damp skins. Bake for 1 hour or until soft.
- Meanwhile put the ancho chilli flakes either in a jug or directly in a blender. Add 75ml boiling water to just cover; set aside to rehydrate.
- Heat the oil in a pan over a medium heat, add the tomatoes and cook for 5-7 minutes until they start to soften. Add the garlic and cook for a further 2 minutes, squashing with a wooden spoon or masher until it’s all pulpy. Pour in 100ml water and bring to a simmer. Add the black beans and simmer gently for 10-15 minutes until the beans have started to soften and the sauce has thickened slightly.
- Going back to the chillies, add the soured cream, lime juice and a pinch of salt to the blender or jug. Blitz until smooth for the crema.
- Mix the parsley, almonds, lime zest and a pinch of salt in a small bowl and set aside.
- Stir the ancho-lime crema through the black beans. Simmer for 2 minutes and check the seasoning.
- Remove the baked potatoes from the oven, cut open and add half the butter to each potato. Spoon over the creamy beans, add an extra dollop of soured cream and scatter over the herby almond topping.
