Irene has been making this tart for family gatherings for decades. The recipe comes from Gourmet January 1996, making it over 30 years old. In recent years, I’ve started making it for both family and friends. It never fails to please, and is a hit for vegetarians and non-vegetarians alike.
Just take a look at that crust and you’ll understand why.
Thought it was about time I shared the recipe here.
Black Bean Tart with Chili Crust
This recipe is a great way to use last summer's corn that you've frozen for later use. Alternatively use a package of frozen corn from the grocer. Note- This recipe makes a lot of filling. Just mound it up if using a 10 inch tart pan. Better yet, make it in an 11 inch tart pan, as I've done here, and it will spread more evenly.
Ingredients
Crust
- 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp. ground cumin
- 1 tsp. chili powder
- 1 tsp. paprika
- ½ tsp. salt
- 1 stick chilled unsalted butter cut into bits
- 2 tbsps. ice water
- rice or beans for weighting shell
Filling
- ½ lb. dried black beans or 3 cups canned black beans, rinsed and drained (2 cans)
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 medium red onion chopped
- 2 tbsps. sour cream
- 1 tbsp. vegetable oil
- 10 oz. frozen corn thawed
- 1 red bell pepper chopped
- ½ cup fresh cilantro washed, dried and chopped
- 1 ½ cup coarsely grated Monterey Jack cheese about 6 ounces
- 1 or 2 fresh jalapeno chilies seeded and chopped fine (optional). I use ½ of one chili
- ½ cup chopped scallions about 2
Lime Sour Cream (Optional)
- 1 cup sour cream or low fat yogurt
- 2 tsps. fresh lime juice or to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Make crust:
- In a bowl with a pastry blender or in a food processor blend or pulse together flour, spices, and salt until combined well. Add butter and blend or pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add ice water and blend or pulse until incorporated and mixture forms a dough.
- Press dough evenly onto bottom and sides of a 10 or 11-inch tart pan with a removable fluted rim and chill 15 minutes, or until firm. Line shell with foil and fill with pastry weights. Bake shell in middle of oven until edge is set, 8 to 10 minutes. Carefully remove foil and weights and bake crust 10 minutes more, or until golden. Cool crust in pan on a rack. (Crust may be made 1 day ahead and kept at room temperature, covered loosely with plastic wrap.)
Make filling:
- In a bowl soak dried beans if using in water to cover by 2 inches and soak overnight, then drain. In a large saucepan combine soaked beans, bay leaf, onion, and water to cover by 2 inches and simmer, uncovered, 1 to 1 ¼ hours, or until tender, adding more water if necessary. Drain beans, discarding bay leaf, and cool. (Note- I use canned black beans and eliminate this step. Then use the chopped red onion and bay leaf in the step with the sauteed corn that follows.)
- In a food processor puree 1 cup cooked or canned beans with sour cream until smooth and season with salt and pepper.
- In a skillet heat oil over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking and saute corn with onion and bay leaf and salt and pepper to taste, stirring, about 2 minutes. Cool corn and remove bay leaf.
- In a large bowl stir together corn, whole beans, bell pepper, cilantro, Monterey Jack, jalapeno, and scallions and season with salt and pepper.
- Spread bean puree evenly onto crust and mound with remaining filling, pressing gently. Bake tart in middle of oven about 20 minutes, or until hot and cheese is melted. Let tart cool in pan on a rack 15 minutes.
- Make Lime Sour Cream – Whisk sour cream and lime juice with salt and pepper to taste
- Remove rim of pan and serve tart warm or at room temperature with lime sour cream (optional). Serves 6.