I've been doing a lot of dessert recipes lately, yeah? Not that that's a bad thing, but it's time to give you a recipe that's a little more in line with the "healthy" aspect of this here food blog. Here's one that basically defines my favorite kind of food: easy, healthy and Mexican. I've only cooked with tomatillos a few times, but I saw them at the grocery store recently and picked up a bag on a whim. They look a lot like green tomatoes, but their flavor is more citrus, very tart and almost sweet. I thought that they would pair nicely with black beans for an easy weeknight taco meal.
Roasted Tomatillo and Black Bean Tacos
makes 6-10 tacos
total time: about 20 minutes
total hands on time: about 20 minutes
What you'll need:
about 6 tomatillos
1/2 onion, diced
1 can black beans
2-3 garlic cloves, diced
glug of olive oil
sprinkle of salt
about a tsp of cumin (or more, depending on your taste)
squirt of lime juice
1 avocado, sliced
cilantro to taste
What you'll do:
1. Remove the husks of the tomatillos and rinse them to get all the sap off.
2. Dice tomatillos and place in a oiled broiler-safe pan. Sprinkle some sugar on top and stir around; this cuts the tartness a bit.
3. Broil tomatillos until they are charred and some of them are blackened, about 10-15 minutes. They will cook down and basically turn into a thick sauce.
4. Meanwhile, saute onions with garlic in olive oil in a pan. Once they're translucent, add black beans, cumin, salt and any other Mexican seasonings you might like. Cook until beans are heated through. When you're about to remove the beans from heat, stir in a squirt of lime juice.
5. While the tomatillos are broiling and the beans are cooking, wrap 2-3 tortillas in paper towel and microwave for about 25 seconds. Keep doing this until you have the number of tortillas you'd like.
6. Layer beans and tomatillos in tortillas (I did tomatillos then beans, but I think the opposite would be better). Top with avocado and cilantro.
Next time I might roast the tomatillos and then blend them in a food processor or something, just so the sauce is a bit thinner. It would be good to add green chiles to the sauce, too. But overall, these tacos were really good, really unusual. And very tangy, thanks to the tomatillos
I'm Carrie. I make quick, easy, healthy food. I don't have any culinary training; I'm just a regular person who wants to eat well. You'll like this blog if you're a busy person who wants to eat flavorful, healthy food without going broke or spending hours in the kitchen.
