Recipe: Kokako's Mexican beans

Kokako's Mexican beans. Photo: supplied

Kokako Café is arguably the most eco-friendly Conscious Consumer cafe in the country.

This ethical recipe is published with assistance from Frenz eggs.

The Conscious Consumers accreditation standards aren't easy to get - not all of them, anyway. Yet Grey Lynn's Kokako Café meets every single benchmark for sustainability that Conscious Consumers has set.

Champions of local, Fairtrade and organic brands, all of the coffee and cold brew sold at Kokako Café is certified organic (Biogro) and certified Fairtrade and roasted in its own coffee roastery across the street.

With drinking chocolate its own blend of certified organic cocoa from the Dominican Republic and certified organic sugar from Paraguay, customers get a global taste of Fairtrade. "We source a range of ethical and organic beverages from the likes of Da Maha Organic Coconut Water, All Good Organics, Renes Kombucha and we use Little Island products as the base in some of our smoothies," adds owner Mike Murphy.

Every one of the 1500 eggs used each week is certified organic and free range from FRENZ, which has been setting high standards for environmental and hen care since the 1980s. Its milk is certified organic and sourced from Anchor - and delivered in a new hybrid fleet of trucks.

All waste is sorted and recycled or composted. When there is no fruit fly outbreak in Grey Lynn all of compostables are collected by Steve Rickerby of We Compost, and coffee grounds go to a local garden. Biodegradable bin liners are from Friendlypak. Custom-printed takeaway cups are sourced from Innocent Packaging - they are recyclable and compostable, and lids are compostable.

Kokako Mexican Beans

This dish is gluten free, dairy free and vegetarian.

Suitable for 4 to 6 people

This is one of our most popular brunch dishes. There is a bit of prep involved so we recommend you prep the Mexican beans n tomatillo salsa and dukkah prior then all you have to do in the morning is scramble the eggs!

Ingredients and method:

For the Mexican beans

20g cumin seeds
20g coriander seeds
10g chilli powder
10g smoked paprika
10g dried oregano
20ml olive oil
40g organic carrots, chopped
30g celery, chopped
60g onion, chopped
10g sliced garlic
50g red capsicum, chopped
1 tablespoon of chipotle chilli paste
200g adzuki beans
500g whole peeled tomatoes
10g fresh oregano

1. Soak the adzuki beans overnight, then cook until just tender, Drain and cool.
2. Toast the cumin and coriander seeds, grind together and combine with the remaining spices.
3. Heat olive oil in a pot, Add carrots, celery, onion and garlic. Sweat for 7 to 8 minutes and add spice mix. Sweat for a further 3 to 5 minutes
4. Add tomatoes and simmer another 10 - 15 mins
5. Add remaining ingredients and cook for a further 10 - 15 mins.

For the Tomatillo salsa

400g tinned tomatillo tomatoes (you can get these from a speciality food retailer)
2 tablespoons chopped jalapenos
1 tablespoon agave syrup
Small handful of coriander
2 cloves garlic
Salt and pepper
Add all of the ingredients to a blender, blend until smooth, taste for seasoning.

For the Dukkah

1 tablespoon of cumin seeds
1 tablespoon of coriander seeds
1 tablespoon fennel seeds

Toast and pulverise the seeds using a pestle and mortar.

100g pistachios
100g pine nuts
50g sesame seeds

Toast the nuts and cool. Combine all of the nuts and seeds in a food processor, season with salt and pepper and pulse until they resemble coarse breadcrumbs.

For the scrambled eggs

2 fresh free range organic eggs per person
50ml cream (optional)
Pinch of salt and pepper

1. Heat vegetable oil and a knob of butter in a non stick pan.
2. Whisk together eggs and cream
3. Season with salt and pepper
4. Add eggs to hot pan, stir gently until just cooked

To serve

Combine the eggs and beans next to each other on a plate
Garnish with fresh avocado , halved cherry tomatoes, fresh coriander, a corn tortilla (baked until crispy), sprinkled with the dukkah over the top.

Conscious Consumers
Scarecrow is a Conscious Consumers-accredited business. Conscious Consumers' mission is to create a global marketplace for sustainable products and services, and develop innovative tools and services to connect participants. With a massive national following, businesses accredited to Conscious Consumers are attracting consumers who care about the impact of their spending.

Visit consciousconsumers.org.nz for more information, or download the app.