Black Bean Tacos

These tacos are centered around refried black beans, scooped into corn tortillas and topped with fresh vegetables. They're incredibly filling, nutritious and delicious (they are Molly's favorite dinner). The beans reheat well, so they're a prime candidate for doubling the recipe and eating all week long.

When cooking this, my preferred order of operations is to cut up all the vegetables before cooking the beans or frying the tortillas. As for the beans and tortillas, I fry the tortillas while I cook the beans and keep them covered so they remain warm and soft.

Refried Black Beans

Ingredients:

1 tbsp olive oil or peanut oil
1 large onion, minced
3 jalapenos, seeded and minced
1 tsp or 3 cloves minced garlic
2 cans, drained, or three cups of black beans
1 large or 2 small vegetable boullion cubes, crumbled (enough for 2 cups broth. If using unsalted, add 1/2 tsp salt)
8 cracks black pepper (or 1/2 tsp pre-ground)
1/2 tsp paprika or cayenne
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp oregano

Equipment:

Potato masher or fork
Medium saucepan

Directions:

Saute onions in oil over medium-high heat until translucent, add jalapenos and stirfry until onions just begin to brown and jalapenos soften, add garlic and saute for another minute. Add the spices and boullion all at once, and stir briskly for one minute. Add a little water to de-glaze the pan. Remove from heat, add the beans and mash to desired consistency. Return to heat and reduce heat to medium-low. Cook until the beans are thoroughly heated.

Toppings

Ingredients:

Green leaf lettuce
Tomato
Red onion
Nutritional yeast, vegan cheese shreds or vegan cheezy sauce
Salsa or hot sauce

Directions:

Shred the lettuce, dice the tomato (removing the watery pulp), and mince the onion. Top tacos as desired.

Corn Tortillas

Ingredients:

Corn tortillas
Peanut oil

Tools:

Skillet
Fork
Paper towels or clean cloth towels

Directions:

Heat skillet to high. Once heated, add 1 tsp of oil to coat the pan and add the tortillas. They take about one to two minutes per side. When they begin to brown, flip and let cook for another minute or two. Remove to paper towels to drain, and cover.

Variations:

If you deep-fry the corn tortillas, you can have tostadas instead.

If you use large flour tortillas (optionally adding vegan cheese shreds or cheezy sauce), you can have burritos. Put the burritos back in the skillet after building them and you can make grilled burritos, Taco Bell-style.

Add a little water or salsa to thin the beans and they make a great dip for chips.