Recipe: Orange Black Beans with Cumin (crock pot, 1 1/2 hours)

ORANGE BLACK BEANS WITH CUMIN

"These beans have enough flavor of their own to serve as a main-dish match with rice or as a side dish with similarly inspired chicken or beef. Mushy they are not."

2 cans (15 ounces each) black beans, rinsed and drained
2 tablespoons firmly packed light or dark brown sugar
1 medium shallot, minced
1 stalk celery, minced
1/2 cup orange juice
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
Pinch of ground cinnamon or cardamom
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
FOR SERVING:
About 2 cups white rice, cooked
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves
1/2 cup chopped fresh tomatoes

Combine the beans, brown sugar, shallot, celery, orange juice, broth, cumin and cinnamon in the slow cooker.

Cover and cook on high for about 1 1/2 hours.

Season with salt and pepper and serve hot, ladled over rice and garnished with the cilantro and tomatoes.

Servings 2 to 4
Loosely adapted from The Stanford University Healthy Heart Cookbook and Life Plan
Source: Not Your Mother's Slow Cooker Cookbook by Beth Hensperger and Julie Kaufmann