Black Bean Family Tacos
Serves 4
This is our go-to Friday night feast! The great thing about it is all the little extras you can offer the kids to ensure they're getting a tasty but balanced plate. For example, my youngest doesn't often eat the beans but he'll have the rice, avocado, cheese and corn - or I'll give him baked beans or chicken strips. Everyone else DEVOURS this. As much as there are different add ons, I find this makes for an engaging meal, passing different dishes to each other, and seeing how everyone stacks their taco differently. It's a highlight to our week.
1-2 x medium sweet potatoes
2 tsp coconut oil or extra virgin olive oil
100ml water ( just wash out the tomato tin, add more if needed)
2 cans black beans (1 with the liquid, 1 without)
5 blocks of frozen spinach / bag of fresh spinach (200g) (Optional)
1 tsp sweet or smoky paprika (optional depending on kids!)
1 tin good chopped tomatoes
1 Stock Cube
1 Tbsp Ground Coriander
2 Tbsp Ground Cumin
1 onion chopped (optional)
1-2 x garlic cloves crushed and chopped
1 tbsp tamari / soya sauce
1 tbsp nut butter
Handful of coriander chopped
4 ripe avocados mashed
1 Lime
50g feta or grated cheddar [optional]
Optional Extras
Bake the sweet potato whole and serve with the beans, fresh coriander and feta.
Omit the Quorn/ beef to make a veggie option you can have on toast or with salad.
Fish Tacos – just fry white fish in paprika, salt and butter. Serve with a crunch slaw and beans.
Chicken Tacos - fry strips with a little ground cumin and coriander, salt and olive oil. A good way to introduce little ones to different flavours.
Method
1. Peel and chop the sweet potato into chunks and cook. You can microwave, bake or steam. Baking takes around 20 mins in a fan oven at 180.
2. While the sweet potato is cooking, heat the oil in a saucepan and gently cook the onion for 5-7 minutes. This is also where you would add (and brown) minced beef or minced Quorn if preferred.
Add the garlic, paprika, cumin and coriander and let the flavours combine for a few minutes. Then add the beans, tomatoes, water, soy sauce and stock cube.
For an added protein hit, spoon in a tbsp of nut butter (peanut or almond)
4. Bring to a bubble then drop the temp to a gentle simmer, stirring occasionally for a further 20 mins before adding the spinach and sweet potato.
5. Make the Quac. Mash you avos, add in finely chopped fresh coriander, sea salt, olive oil and the juice of ½ a lime. Option to add a tbsp of plain yoghurt.
Adjust for your taste.
6. Serve with Taco shells, wild rice, Quac, cheese, corn on the cob, crunchy leaves or a homemade slaw.