Mexican black beans with chipotle and chocolate, with tortillas and sour cream

Make this the day before you leave for camping (or further in advance and freeze), refrigerate overnight and transport cold in the cool box. This way you can arrive early evening and have dinner good to go in as many minutes as it takes you to heat the beans, chop the herbs and dish out the tortillas in a bowl. You’ll be busy setting up camp; this meal needs to be easy. Tone down – or ramp up – the chilli as you see fit.

SERVES FOUR INGREDIENTS

2 large red onions, very thinly sliced

Olive or vegetable oil, for frying 1-2 tbsp chipotle paste, to taste 2 tsp ground cumin

½ tsp ground cinnamon, or a whole cinnamon stick

1 tsp smoked paprika

2 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely chopped

1.2kg (3 tins) black beans, drained and rinsed

1 x 400g tin of chopped tomatoes Juice of ½ lime, plus wedges to serve

25g good-quality dark chocolate, or 10g cocoa powder

300g sour cream

Large bunch of coriander, half of it finely chopped (the rest can be used for beans the next morning) 1 big bag of salted tortilla chips 1 large green chilli, finely sliced (optional)

METHOD

In a saucepan set over a moderate heat, cook one of the onions in enough oil for about eight minutes until softened. Add the chipotle paste, spices and garlic, season, and cook for a further minute or two until fragrant.

Add the beans and tomatoes and bring to the boil then reduce to a gentle simmer and cook for 20 to 25 minutes until the liquid has reduced to a paste.

While the beans are cooking, pour enough boiling water to cover the remaining red onion in a small dish and leave for about a minute, then drain well and add the lime juice with a big pinch of salt. Mix well. The onion slices will turn very pink. Put them in a small container.

When the beans are thick and well flavoured, check the seasoning, adding extra salt and black pepper if necessary.

Remove from the heat, and then grate (or stir) in the chocolate or cocoa, mixing well to combine. Store the beans in a sealed container in the fridge.

To serve, heat the beans and serve with the sour cream, coriander, limepickled onions, lime wedges and tortilla chips. Some extra sliced green chilli on top is good if you like your beans hot. Make sure you leave some leftovers for breakfast (see recipe on facing page).