Black bean tostadas

A couple of weeks ago, I went for a meal at Wahaca in Wimbledon with a friend. It was one of those rare evenings where everything I ordered was wonderful, and it reaffirmed how much I love Mexican food. It can be fresh and light or meaty and cheesy, but it's always tasty (except, I have to say, the branch near Wardour Street, which is sadly disappointing). I'd wanted to go because I'd just finished bookmarking my way through Home Cook, a veritable treasure trove of over 300 recipes from Thomasina Miers, the founder of Wahaca. There are so many I want to try! The recipe for these black bean tostadas, however, is actually inspired by one from her previous book, Mexican Food Made Simple. 

Tostadas are simply whole tortillas made ultra crisp, usually by frying. These are slathered with a lightly spiced, roughly mashed black bean mixture, and then scattered with a bounty of toppings. There are so many different flavours and textures at play here: the snap of the tostada, the warmth and heft of the black beans, the juiciness of the tomatoes, the crunch of the lettuce, the zing of the lime, the bite of the onion, the creaminess of the avocado and the sharpness of the crumbled feta cheese, all infused but not overpowered with the flavours of coriander, cumin, garlic and chilli. You already know these are a few of my favourite things. 

I've veered away from Thomasina's recipe through sheer laziness. I bake (shop-bought) corn tortillas into tostadas instead of frying them, rubbing them between clean, olive-oil-slicked hands and placing in a hot oven until perfectly brown and crisp. If you can find small tortillas, use two per serving. I could only find medium tortillas and just one of these, piled high with toppings, is more than enough. Rather than cooking dried black beans from scratch and then pureeing with other ingredients, I spice and heat canned black beans before roughly mashing. If I can't get my hands on black beans, like today, I will make do with canned mixed beans instead. I've adapted my own recipes for the black beans and chunky salsa, recycling them from my chicken burrito bowl post. You can even add a little shredded chicken if the idea of a meatless Monday scares you, but it isn't necessary. All in all, the only really laborious/technical thing you need to do for this recipe is chop. I think you can manage that.

This fresh and vibrant recipe was made for these sunny spring days. So go on. Take a bite.

Chomp!

Black bean tostadas

Serves 2.

INGREDIENTS

• 2 medium corn tortillas
• 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 onion (red or white), chopped 
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• 400g can of black beans
• 3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4-1/2 teaspoon chilli powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/3-1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• small handful of coriander, separated into leaves and stalks and finely chopped
• 1/2 medium tomato or 6 cherry tomatoes, diced
• 1 bird's eye chilli, finely chopped (optional)
• 1/2 lime, plus more for serving
• 1 ripe avocado, peeled, stoned and sliced
• lettuce, finely shredded
• 50-100g feta cheese, crumbled

METHOD

Preheat oven to 200°C.

Drizzle a tablespoon of the olive oil over the tortillas and then use your clean hands to spread the oil evenly over both sides. Place on a baking tray and bake for 8-10 minutes until evenly brown and crispy, but not burnt. 

In a medium saucepan, heat the remaining teaspoon of olive oil over medium-low. Sauté a quarter of the chopped onion (reserving the rest for the salsa) for a couple of minutes until soft and translucent. Add the garlic cloves and sauté for another minute. 

Drain and discard a third of the liquid from the can of black beans. Pour the rest of its contents into the pan. Add the ground cumin, chilli powder, black pepper, salt and a tablespoon of the chopped coriander stalks. Taste and adjust spices as needed. Simmer on low for 7-10 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent the bottom burning, until thick and hot through. Roughly mash the mixture with a fork. 

In a bowl, mix the remaining chopped onion with the diced tomatoes, the bird's eye chilli if using, 1-2 tablespoons of chopped coriander and 1 tablespoon of lime juice. Season with a little salt and a pinch each of ground cumin and garlic powder. Taste and adjust.

To assemble, spread the tostadas with the mashed black beans. Top with the shredded lettuce, salsa, avocado and crumbled feta cheese. Sprinkle with more coriander leaves and squeeze over a little lime juice. Dig in.