I love preparing dishes with a Mexican accent but was always up in the air about what to serve as a vegetable side dish. After testing a variety of vegetable and Mexican entrée pairings, I came up with a quick sauté that complements any Mexican entrée.

This sugar snap pea sauté gets added color and texture from canned black beans and frozen corn, as well as great flavor from sautéed onions, garlic and ground cumin. Serve alongside your favorite enchiladas, burritos, fajitas or tacos in addition to everyone’s favorite standard, Mexican rice.

• 1 1/2 to 2 pounds sugar snap peas
• 1 tablespoon butter or olive oil
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 cup canned black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 cup frozen corn, defrosted
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Blanch sugar snap peas in boiling water for 2 minutes. Drain and immediately place in ice water. When peas are cool, drain and place on paper towels to remove excess water.

Heat butter or olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions and garlic and sauté until onion is translucent, about 3 minutes. Add sugar snap peas, black beans, corn and cumin and sauté until vegetables heated through. Season to taste with salt and pepper before serving.

Makes 6 servings.