5:30 Challenge: Black beans and bacon

Black Beans and Bacon

To make the meal

Crusty bread

Couscous

This recipe was sent to us by Anne Mellinger-Birdsong, who lives near Emory University in Atlanta. She prepares dinner nightly for her husband and two children and says although she’s been reading “5:30 Challenge” for a while, most of her own creations have too many ingredients to qualify. This recipe, however, fit within the column’s guidelines of no more than five ingredients.

Mellinger-Birdsong was inspired to create this dish while reading through the recipe book her sister-in-law brought back after taking a cooking class in Italy. “I was trying to come up with something Italian-tasting that wasn’t strictly vegetarian but definitely used more plant protein than normal,” she says.

She makes this recipe with home-cooked black beans rather than canned, but we tested it with canned black beans and they work fine. She also serves this with homemade bread. She uses her bread machine, which is programmed to have the loaf ready in time for dinner. If you want to give it a little more Italian flavor, Mellinger-Birdsong suggests seasoning with a little oregano.

Take the 5:30 Challenge. If you have a great-tasting main-dish recipe that uses no more than five ingredients and can be made in 30 minutes or less, tell us. (Salt, pepper, water and oil for greasing a pan don’t need to be included in the ingredient count.) You can also suggest a side dish if it can be made within the same time. Send recipes with your name, address and phone number to fivethirty@ajc.com.

Black Beans and Bacon

Hands on: 15 minutes

Total time: 25 minutes

Serves: 4

8 slices low-sodium bacon, cut in half

1 medium onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 (15-ounce) cans black beans, drained and rinsed

3 tomatoes, diced in 1/4(quarter)-inch pieces

In a large skillet, cook bacon slices over medium heat until crisp, about 10 minutes.

Remove bacon, set aside to drain. Spoon out bacon fat, leaving 1 tablespoon. Reserve extra bacon fat for seasoning other dishes. Add onion and garlic to fat and sauté over medium heat until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add beans and tomatoes, and cook over medium heat, until everything heats through. Season to taste.

Crumble reserved bacon into small pieces and sprinkle over beans.

Per serving (without couscous): 280 calories (percent of calories from fat, 24), 17 grams protein, 35 grams carbohydrates, 13 grams fiber, 7 grams fat (2 grams saturated), 25 milligrams cholesterol, 532 milligrams sodium.