Black Bean Tart With Chili Cornbread Crust

As far as Meatless Monday meals go this was by far one of our favorites.  Even Matt remarked how much flavor it had for a meatless meal.  He even ate seconds- this is unheard of on Meatless Mondays.  My mom's friend Jane passed along this recipe along with several other Mexican ones- she knows us well we love our Mexican Food.   This one was highly recommended and it did not disappoint.  It does involve several steps, but most of the prep work for this can be done early to save time at dinner time.  You can make the cornbread crust ahead of time, the black bean spread, and have all the veggies sauteed.  Then all you have to do is layer and bake.   It saves well in the fridge too, we ate it as leftovers and it was just as good.  If you can use fresh corn instead of frozen it is so much better!

side note- this recipe called for tart pan which I don't own so I used my Springform pan and it worked just fine- you just need a pan where the sides come off.

Enjoy!

|| B L A C K  B E A N  T A R T ||

For crust 1 cups all-purpose flour 1/4 cup yellow cornmeal 1 teaspoon ground cumin 1 teaspoon chili powder 1 teaspoon paprika 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 stick (1/2 cup) chilled unsalted butter, cut into bits 2 tablespoons ice water (more if needed)

For filling

• 2 15oz  cans black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 3 tablespoons sour cream
• 2 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 2 ears of corn, husked and kernels chopped off or 1 10 oz bag frozen corn
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped (about 1 cup)
• 1 1/2 cups coarsely grated Monterey Jack (about 6 ounces)
• 2 fresh jalapeño chiles, seeded and chopped finely 

In a bowl, combine the first six ingredients. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in enough water until mixture forms a ball. Press dough onto the bottom and up the sides of an ungreased 9-in. fluted tart pan with a removable bottom. Chill for 15 minutes.

 Bake Crust at 350° for 10 minutes covered with foil.  Remove foil and back an additional 8-10 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on a wire rack.

In a blender, combine 1 cup beans, sour cream and 1/2 teaspoon salt; cover and process until smooth. Spread over crust. In a skillet, saute corn in oil until tender. Remove from the heat; add red pepper, onions,  jalapenos, pepper and remaining salt. Add cheese and remaining beans. Mound over the pureed beans (pan will be full). Bake at 350° for 20-25 minutes or until cheese is melted. Serve with sour cream if desired.