For a quick, nutritious vegan and gluten-free family meal, these delicious black bean tacos are an easy way to get the family on board with plant-based eating!
Black Bean Filling - Melt the olive oil in a large frying pan and fry the onion and red pepper over a medium heat, stirring frequently, until softened and browned (about 5-8 mins). Add the garlic and spices and fry for another 1 minute, stirring constantly.
Stir in the black beans, tomato puree, vegetable stock, oregano and salt and pepper and simmer for 10 minutes over a low heat while you get the accompaniments ready (stir occasionally and add a little water if it starts to look too dry).
800 g tinned black beans, 2 tablespoon tomato puree, 250 ml vegetable stock, 2 teaspoon dried oregano, ½ teaspoon salt
Cashew Cream - Mix the ingredients in a high speed blender until really smooth. Transfer to a small bowl.
150 g cashews, 180 g water, 1 teaspoon smoked paprika, 1 teaspoon lime juice, ¼ teaspoon salt
Tacos - Warm the taco shells in the oven according to the packet instructions.
12 corn taco shells
Accompaniments - Finely shred the lettuce and put in a bowl with a little lime juice squeezed on top. Chop up some coriander, prepare some lime wedges and some sliced jalapenos.
½ iceberg lettuce (or little gem), 200 g salsa, 200 g guacamole, jalapeno slices, coriander (cilantro) leaves, lime wedges
Serve - Serve the warmed tacos for everyone to help themselves to with a serving of black beans, a dollop of each sauce and the finely shredded lettuce and coriander sprinkled on top.
Notes
Adjust the spiciness by using hot or sweet smoked paprika as necessary and adding sliced chillies with the garlic and spices if you like.
If your blender is not so powerful, you may need to pre-soak your cashews in boiling water for about 15 minutes before blending.
The amount of liquid needed in the black beans will depend on how high a heat it cooks on and how long. Sometimes, if I’m distracted (children fighting, setting the table, phone ringing, etc.!) then the beans can end up cooking for a lot longer. If that happens, just keep adding a little more water and stirring it in whenever it looks a little too dry.
Use leftover black beans mixture to eat with rice, sweetcorn and sauteed dark green leaves the next day.