Fast and Fab Vegetarian Black Bean Tacos

This is another one of those meals that was caused by my dear mama. She gave me a bag of black beans (uncooked beans) and said, I don’t know how I got this but you should take it and do something with it. Hmm, this ain’t the first time. But that’s okay, I wanted to make some veggie tacos and I felt black beans hit the spot in this.

Now you can for sure just use canned black beans and I’m not a snob about this but since I did need to cook these on my own, I will share with you (IMHO) the best way to make them.

I was good, I soaked the beans, discarded the water (don’t want that raffinose sugar in there) and cooked them. For hours. Unlike what most recipes call for, these beans simply did not soften. It’s occasionally happened to me with lentils here as well, I truly don’t know if it’s Israeli beans or what. I simply cooked them and they got softer but not that you can mash them easily with a fork softness. So, in severe annoyance, I dumped them with boiling water (NO SALT NEVER SALT WHEN COOKING THEM OR THEY TOUGHEN!!!) into my handy dandy crockpot, and ya know what? I shoulda done that to begin with. I cooked them on high for about 3-4 hours and they were perfect and mashable.

So, if you choose to cook your beans, I would cook them overnight in the crockpot on low, easy peasy no aggro. There you go.

Onward. You have your cooked beans, whether by can or fresh cooked, and if by can, drain and rinse them, removing that black sludge.

Next, sautee a large, chopped onion in oil. I usually have this available see https://kosherfromjerusalem.com/2019/12/17/basic-sauteed-onions-a-kitchen-staple/ and add the crushed garlic, salt (yup, now’s salt time after the cooking) bay leaves, chili powder and ground black pepper and a third cup of water.

Stir all together and cook on low heat till the beans smell fragrant and are nice and hot and the water mostly absorbs into the bean mixture.

This takes about ten minutes. While this is happening, assemble your taco condiments and the tacos themselves. You can either warm them in the oven (once oven is 350 F for 3-5 minutes), microwave wrapped in paper towels (minute or so) or in a ungreased pan on the stovetop, heating both sides for a minute or two on each side, whichever method works best for you.

Note they brown a tad, that’s fine.

Collect the condiments so you can make them assembly line style.

You can use salsa or tomato pesto (which I personally love, love, love) shredded purple cabbage, pickled or not, shredded lettuce, shredded melting cheese and sliced or chunked avocado. Don’t forget the sour cream. I tried it one day with and one day without and OMG don’t skip it, please. It’s just a small spoonful but adds so much.

So, put a thick line of black beans down the center of your warmed taco, add some dollops of tomato salsa/pesto, the chunks of avocado, a line of cheese (on top of the hot beans so it gets melty) the cabbage and lettuce and don’t forget the sour cream!

A colorful gorgeousness that demands your full concentration cuz nope, this is not a meal to share on a first date or with strangers. Have good friends and/or family so you don’t care when it spills out from either end of your overloaded taco. That’s half the fun. Serve with many napkins and some ice cold drinks. Boom, you’re done.

Fast and Fab Vegetarian Black Bean Tacos

 
1 large peeled, chopped onion
2-3 tablespoons olive oil
4 1/2 cups cooked black beans, canned or fresh cooked 
1 heaping teaspoon cumin 
2 teaspoons crushed garlic 
2 teaspoons salt (to taste)
1-2 bay leaves
1 1/2 teaspoons crushed chili powder
Ground black pepper
 1/3-1/2 cup water 

Condiments:

Avocado
Grated cheese 
shredded lettuce and/or shredded purple cabbage (pickled or not, as you like)
Tomato salsa 
Sour cream 
Tortillas 

Directions

If you choose to cook your own black beans, I used 2 1/2 cups black beans (a whole package here) to approximately 6-7 cups of water, adding additional water when needed. The best way to cook them is in the crockpot/slow cooker overnight. They should be mashable in consistency and DO NOT add salt to the beans until fully cooked or they will toughen and forget them ever getting properly soft. Otherwise, use about 3 – 4 cans of cooked black beans, rinse off the sludge and drain.

In a pot, sautee the onion in the oil till dark yellow and add the beans, cumin, garlic, salt, chili powder, salt, bay leaves and black pepper and add the water and cook on medium low heat for about ten minutes to let beans absorb the flavorings and water and get thoroughly hot. The beans will not be dry but thick and very little liquid left.

While this is happening, assemble your condiments in a row for ease of assembly line prep and get your dishes ready. Then warm your tortillas (I did it in an ungreased non stick frying pan but an oven or microwave is also good) and place tacos on plates. Put a row of hot black bean mixture down the middle of the taco, grated cheese, avocado, tomato pesto, shredded cabbage, shredded lettuce and sour cream. Carefully fold in half and take that first heavenly bite. Expect it to be messy, that’s half the pleasure.