The American kitchen has become a melting pot for the world’s flavors. A great example? Tex-Mex cooking. "To me, Tex-Mex is fusion at its most natural," says Samuelsson of a cuisine which blends Mexican, Spanish and European elements to into a uniquely American style. This recipe—easy enough for a weeknight dinner but festive enough for a party—the scent of roast pork and spice-inflected black beans, both made with Knorr® Chipotle Mexican Cooking Sauce, confirms just how easy it can be to bring people to the table for a delicious sampling of cross-cultural cuisine.
6 servings
1 (4-pound) pork loin roast
1 teaspoon salt
fresh black pepper
1 package Knorr® Chipolte Mexican Cooking Sauce, divided
1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
2. Season the pork with salt and pepper and brush with 1/2 cup of the Chipotle Sauce. Transfer to a roasting pan and roast, basting occasionally with additional Chipotle Sauce, until a thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the roast registers 155°F, about 60 minutes.
Serve with remaining Chipotle Sauce, heated, and Black Beans (see below).
Black Beans
2 cups dried black beans
1 bay leaf
2 Spanish onions, peeled and chopped
6 slices bacon, finely chopped
1/2 cup Knorr® Chipolte Mexican Cooking Sauce
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon turmeric
2 teaspoons brown sugar
6 tomatoes, chopped
2 teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 tablespoons olive oil
1. Soak beans overnight.
2. Transfer beans to a pot and cover with water. Add the bay leaf and onions and simmer for 50 minutes. Drain and rinse.
3. In a separate pot cook bacon over low heat until crispy. Remove and set aside. Add the Knorr® Chipotle Sauce, garlic, cumin and turmeric to the bacon fat and sauté until garlic is tender, about 3 minutes. Add the brown sugar, tomatoes and salt. Increase heat to medium and bring to a simmer. Simmer for 10 minutes, then add the beans and red wine vinegar.
To serve, garnish the beans with bacon, and drizzle with olive oil.