Black Bean

This recipe can be increased to serve any number of hungry people as a main course or appetizer. Chopped olives, chopped red or green bell peppers and kidney beans are also good in this dish.

A version of the popular Cuban soup comes from Miami's Casa Larios.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Make a salad of rice tossed with diced jicama, red bell pepper, avocado and a vinaigrette dressing, and pass bowls of sour cream and shredded lettuce to accompany these Southwest-style meatless bean burgers. A lemon tart is a perfect finale.

Marinating the pork in citrus juices gives it a flavor that is perfectly complemented by the slightly spicy sauce. If you cannot find plantains, use ripe bananas.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

The crust of this tart is tender and quite crumbly.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Nice with the chicken, as a side dish for burgers, or on its own as a snappy vegetarian main course.

Top with sour cream and chopped cilantro.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

(From Chris Schlesinger and John Willoughby, License to Grill, Morrow, 1997) Tommy who? Chris and John explain: "This classic Latin American dish is that rare bird, a completely healthful vegetarian meal that appeals to the taste buds of teenagers. Or at least it appeals to the buds of Tommy, a teenager who lives in the apartment above one of us and is the nephew of the other one. Tommy prefers his rice and beans cooked separately, rather than together, and likes lots of garlic and only a few bell peppers in the mix; so that's how we make it here. For some reason, it has almost as high an appeal rating as pizza and chips, those quintessential meatless teenage favorites."