Great dip and great chips. YUM!

Ingredients:

• 1 small onion, finely diced
• 1 spring onion sliced (set sliced green tops aside for later)
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• 1 teaspoon finely chopped red chilli
• ½ teaspoon ground cumin
• ½ teaspoon ground coriander
• Dash of Tabasco (or more depending or your taste)
• 1 small tomato, finely diced
• 1 x 440gm tin of refried beans (I like the black bean type)
• ¼ cup grated (or cubed) cheddar cheese
• 1 tablespoon of fresh coriander, chopped
• Squeeze of lime juice

Some of the ingredients needed to make a great Bean Dip

Method:

In a small to medium sized saucepan slowly cook the onion, white part of the spring onion, garlic and chilli.  You can use a small amount of oil but I add a little water instead.

Cooking off the onion, chilli and garlic

Once the onion is translucent (takes about 5-10 minutes) add the cumin and coriander, stir through and cook for a further 2 minutes.  Add the tomato and Tabasco and again cook for a further 2-3 minutes stirring to combine.

A tin of good Refried Beans

Now add the tin of refried beans and stir through the tomato mixture to incorporate the ingredients.  If at this stage it looks a bit dry add a little water and stir through.

Adding the spices and tomato

Add the grated cheese and again stir through.  Let this cook over low heat until the cheese has melted through (stirring occasionally so it doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan).

Now add some cheese

Add the green spring onion tops and fresh coriander with a squeeze of lime juice.  Stir through then serve in a bowl with corn chips as a side dish, snack or as part of a Mexican feast.

Hints:

As with all my recipes it all comes down to taste.  You can add more chilli, a little bit more cumin or even a bit more cheese if you desire.  Just remember to taste and add, then taste again.

As the bean mixture can easily stick to the bottom of the saucepan make sure you check and stir the mixture so that it doesn’t catch and burn.

If you don’t have a lime a bit of lemon works just as well.  And on the same line if you only have one type of onion (be it brown, white or red) use whatever you have to hand.

And lastly, always remember that my recipes are a guide and they should be played with.  We all have different tastes and we should develop a recipe to suit or own taste buds, wants and needs!