Black Bean Salsa & Plantain Chips

When we lived in Dallas many years ago, we loved going to a Brazilian restaurant in the Knox-Henderson area called the Samba Room. They had some great vegetarian dishes using root vegetables, plantains, coconuts and beans. The spices they used a lot are ones I am familiar with from Indian cooking- cumin, black pepper and cilantro.

A unique and tasty appetizer at the Samba Room was black bean salsa served with plantain chips.

Plantains are a member of the banana family but more starchy. For this recipe, the plantains need to be green- i.e. not ripe.

I have included the recipe for plantain chips. However, if I am making this for a large get together then I just pick up a few bags at Whole Foods or Trader Joes. Both have excellent, tasty versions of plantain chips.

Black Bean Salsa

1 cup of black beans, cooked and washed well

1 cup cherry tomatoes, cut into eighths

1/2 red pepper, diced

1 small onion, diced

1/4 cup fresh cilantro, diced

Juice of 1/2 lime, freshly squeezed

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

Salt to taste (start with 1/2 teaspoon)

Optional- 1 clove of garlic, finely diced

Combine all the ingredients. Cover and wait about 15-30 minutes before serving. Can be prepared a day early and stored in the fridge.

5- Bake for about 5 minutes. Remove from the oven and flip the chips over. Cook for another 5 minutes.

6- Salt to taste.