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Five-Minute Black Bean Tacos

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This is one of our favourite quick dinners: flavoursome comfort food that’s ready in a flash!

Ingredients:

1 can black beans
4 corn tortillas
1 red pepper
1 carrot
½ green cabbage
2 green onions
½ cup all-plant coconut yoghurt
1 tbsp lime juice
½ tsp garlic granules
Salt and pepper

Directions: 

1. Shred the carrots and cabbage, and finely slice the pepper; I used a food processor to speed it up. 
2. Warm the beans and toast the tortillas in a pan to make them crispy. 
3. Make the dressing by mixing the coconut yoghurt, lime juice, garlic powder, and salt and pepper. 
4. Serve the tortillas with the beans, veg, and dressing.

Tortilla Pinwheels

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These Unfried Black Bean Tortilla Pinwheels take just minutes to make. If you want the pinwheels to be more firm, though, leave them in the fridge to set for an hour or two. Serves 2.

Ingredients:
1 onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 jalapeño pepper, minced
1 red pepper, roasted (I used one from a jar)
1 can black beans, drained and mashed
1/4 cup broth or water
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp ground chilli pepper
1/4 tsp salt
1 tbsp tomato purée
1 tbsp lime juice
3 cups spinach
1 avocado
2 corn tortillas

Directions:
1. Preheat a sauté pan over a medium low heat, and sauté the onion until it starts to take on some colour. Add the garlic and and stir for 30 seconds.
2. Stir in the jalapeño and red pepper, black beans, broth, herbs and spices, salt, tomato purée, and lime. Slowly add the spinach, a handful at a time, and allow to wilt. Cook the mixture until the spinach has completely wilted and all of the liquid is absorbed.
3. Mash the avocado and divide it among the corn tortillas. Spread the filling into the tortillas, roll up, and then cut into pinwheels using a sharp knife.

Blueberry Bean Salad

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One of the joys of salad is the possibility to get creative with them. This fruity, beany salad is certainly novel, and the recipe results in a large portion for one, or a medium-sized portion for two.

Ingredients
6 leaves romaine/cos lettuce, shredded
1 sweet apple, diced
1/4 cup blueberries
1 stalk celery, diced
1 cold baked potato (skin on), chopped
1/4 cup cooked black beans
1 scallion/green onion, chopped
2 tbsp vegan salad dressing (miso-ginger or tofu ranch)

Directions:
1. Add all ingredients to a large bowl.
2. Toss.
3. Enjoy

Sweet Potato and Black Bean Salad

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A relatively easy salad with wonderful textures, this serves one as a main course or two as a side. Great for packed lunches, but pack the dressing separately so that the lettuce doesn’t become soggy.

250g baked and cooled sweet potato, cubed
1/4 cup cooked black beans
5 leaves romaine/cos lettuce, shredded
2 scallions/spring onions/green onions, diced
2 tbsp unsalted pistachio nuts, shelled
1 tsp each toasted sesame and pumpkin seeds
1 tbsp nutritional yeast (optional)
2 tbsp dressing of choice (e.g. Miso-Ginger dressing)

Directions
1. Add the romaine lettuce to a large bowl. Top with sweet potato. Sprinkle over black beans, scallions, nuts, seeds.
2. Top with dressing. Toss, and sprinkle with nutritional yeast.

Sweet Potato and Black Bean Tortillas with a Green Lime Dressing

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Although this dish looks quite involved, it takes under 30 minutes to prepare, and is incredibly flavoursome. Serves 2.

Ingredients

For the Spice Mix

1 tsp cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp paprika
Pinch cayenne pepper

For the Tortillas

2 small sweet potatoes (about 350g), peeled and cut into smaller-than-bite-sized chunks
1/2 red onion, medium dice
1 bell pepper, medium dice
1 400g can black beans, rinsed and drained
1/4 cup + 1 tbsp vegetable stock
4 mini flour or corn tortillas

For the Dressing

1/2 cup soy or coconut yoghurt
2 tbsp lime juice
50g kale
Handful spinach
Soy (or other plant) milk, as needed, to thin to desired consistency

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 220C. Prepare the potatoes. Bring the sweet potatoes to a boil in a pot of cold salted water, and allow to boil for just 5 minutes, to soften. Meanwhile, line a baking tray with aluminium foil, parchment, or a silicone mat. Drain the potatoes, and toss with the tbsp vegetable stock and a few generous pinches of the spice mix. Place in a single layer on the baking tray, and roast in the oven for 10 minutes, turning once.
2. Meanwhile, in a nonstick frying pan over a medium-low heat, sauté the onions and peppers until starting to soften. Add the beans, the stock, and 1-2 tsp spice mix, to taste. Allow to cook gently until the liquid is evaporated and the beans are soft. Mash the beans slightly with the back of a fork or a potato masher.
3. Make the dressing by combining the yoghurt, lime juice, kale, spinach, 1-2 tsp of the spice mix in a blender. Blend until smooth, adding some plant milk 1 tbsp at a time to thin to desired consistency. You will have leftover dressing, but you can save it for salads.
4. Warm the tortillas according to package directions. Drizzle with the dressing, and top with the sweet potatoes and the bean mix.

Spicy coconut milk stew with black beans, sweet potato, and mixed baby greens

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Simple, rich and brightly coloured, this makes a small bowl for 4 and a large one for 2.

Ingredients

2T water
1/4t coarse sea salt
2 scallions, minced (3″ – 4″ reserved for garnish)
1T fresh garlic, minced
1t fresh ginger, grated and minced
1t crushed red chili (or to taste)
1 cup coconut milk
1 cup vegetable stock
1 ‘sprig’ dried kombu (about 1″)
2 cups sweet potato, peeled and cut 1/2″ dice
2 cups green cabbage, shredded (I use coleslaw mix)
2 cups cooked black beans
1 cup mixed baby greens (I use spinach, kale and chard)
1/2 cup ripe tomato, cored, seed and cut 1/4″ dice
Coarse sea salt and chili or black pepper to taste

Optional: A little cilantro with the baby greens adds some bright green flavor to this dish. Dulse and nori flakes will add additional colour and nutrition.

Directions

Bring a large frying pan with a lid to heat on medium. Add the water and the scallions and water saute for 2 minutes. Add the ginger, garlic and chili and saute for another minute. Add the coconut milk and chili. Stir to combine. Simmer lightly for 2 minutes. Add the stock, kombu and sweet potato.

Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Add the cabbage and stir to combine. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Add the black beans. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes, or until the sweet potato is fork tender. When the sweet potatoes are tender, remove from heat and remove the kombu.

Add the baby greens and stir gently to combine. Let stand 2 minutes to cool and for the greens to wilt. Season to taste. Ladle out and garnish with chopped tomato and scallion greens sliced on an angle.

Shoestring sweet potato, black bean, and kale bowl with caper aioli

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A fairly simple but rich bowl with sweet potatoes, kale, black beans and caper aioli. This makes a good size bowl for 2 or a small side dish for 4.

Ingredients

For the sweet potatoes
3 cups sweet potato, peeled and spiral cut
1T sriracha (or similar or to taste)
1/2T curry powder
2T tamari
1/4t coarse sea salt
Sea salt and black pepper to taste

For the mushrooms, kale and black beans
2T water
1/4t coarse sea salt
2 scallions, minced
1/2 cup maitake mushrooms, finely chopped
1 cup cooked black beans
2 cups green curly kale, coarsely chopped
1/2T lemon juice
2T nutritional yeast
1/4t black pepper, freshly cracked (or to taste)
Sea salt and black pepper to taste

For the aioli
2T sesame seed butter
2T white pickling vinegar
1t lemon juice
1T fresh garlic, minced
1t prepare brown mustard
1T pickled capers, minced
1/2T dried green herbs (I use herbes de Provence)

Optional: Shoestringing the potatoes will require a spiral slicer, although a mandoline will give you something similar. If you have neither, dice the sweet potatoes 1/4″ and adjust the cook time as noted below. If you make the beans from scratch, start with 1/3 cup and 1 cup of water (or make them in a batch). I stew them with kombu. A little sun-dried tomato added with the kale would also go well in this dish.

Method

Start the sweet potatoes, and then make the kale and then the aioli.

Preheat the oven to 400F. Cut the sweet potatoes. Mix the sriracha, tamari, curry powder and sea salt. Toss the sweet potatoes in the mixture until well coated. Bake evenly distributed on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper on the middle rack until crisp. Expect about 30 – 40 minutes. Stir periodically to ensure even coverage. Remove from heat when done.

Not, the potatoes should be well-distributed to increase the amount of air flow available to them (so that they crisp). The more open air they get, the better. If you dice the sweet potatoes, bake until fork tender. Ovens vary; use the colour and texture as your guide.

At the 25 minute market, mix the ingredients for the aioli in order, up to but not including the capers, until emulsified and fluffy. Add the capers and green herbs, stir to combine and let stand while you saute the kale.

Bring a large frying pan to heat on medium. Add the scallions, sea salt and water. Stir fry for 2 minutes. Add the maitake mushrooms and stir fry for 3 minutes. Add the kale and stir fry for another 2 minutes. Add additional water by the tablespoon if the pan gets too dry.

Add the lemon juice and deglaze the pan. Remove from heat. Toss with the nutritional yeast and black pepper. Let stand to cool while you plate the sweet potatoes.

To plate, add the sweet potatoes in an even, shallow layer. Season the beans, kale and mushrooms to taste and layer on top. Dollop with the aioli and serve.