This recipe is easy, fast, and doesn't heat up the kitchen too much in the dead of summer. Mostly chopping and stirring, with just a bit of time in a skillet. Happy (and healthy) Taco Tuesday!
Black Bean & Caramelized Onion Tacos with Lime Marinated Zucchini
Ingredients:
1 can black beans
1 large sweet onion
6 flour tortillas
1 Tbsp taco seasoning (or a mix of chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, smoked paprika, cumin, cilantro, & Mexican oregano)
1 lime
1 zucchini
1 Tbsp light brown sugar
2 oz aged sharp cheddar cheese (or vegan cheese substitute of choice)
¼ cup vegan sour cream substitute (or real sour cream if you want)
1 avocado
olive oil
salt & pepper
Directions:
Start by remembering that today is Monday, aka your husband's D&D night, and that you need to have made [i]& finished eating[/i] dinner by 6:00 pm, so he can go slay demigorgons or something. Decide that vegetarian tacos are the way to go, and pull out the ingredients. Realize that you're going to need some help to get this done on time, and put on some James Brown to help get you moving. I recommend "Get Up Offa That Thing".
Prep the ingredients: Zest the lime, then slice in half. Quarter the onion, then slice about 1/4" thick. Halve the zucchini lengthwise; then cut into thin half moons. Grate the aged cheddar cheese on the large side of a box grater. Drain and rinse the black beans.
Start the filling: In a nonstick skillet, heat a drizzle of olive oil on medium. Add the sliced onion and season with salt & pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, 3-4 minutes. Lower the heat to low, add the light brown sugar and cook for another 3-4 minutes, until golden and soft.
While the onions caramelize, place the zucchini in a bowl with a light drizzle with olive oil, the juice of half the lime, and season lightly with salt & pepper. Stir every few minutes, while getting on with the rest of your taco goodness. You are the queen of multi-tasking.
Realize that your James Brown song has ended, and ask Alexa to play you Brick House by the Commodores. Heck yeah, you are kicking tonight's butt!
Go back to the skillet of onions, and add the beans, 1/2 cup of water, and the taco seasoning. Increase heat to medium-high, and cook, stirring occasionally and mashing the beans lightly with the back of a spoon, 7 to 9 minutes, or until thickened and the beans have slightly broken down. Turn off the heat; season with salt & pepper to taste.
While the beans cook, in a small bowl, combine the sour cream substitute, lime zest, the juice of the other lime half, 1 Tbsp of olive oil, and season with salt & pepper to taste.
Wrap the tortillas in dampened paper towels and warm in the microwave for 15-30 seconds. Or warm them in another skillet if you dislike microwaves. But I for one, ain't got time for warming individual tortillas or washing extra pans! [i]The crafts, the crafts are calling....[/i] Finally, slice the avocado at the last minute, because you almost forgot about it.
Assemble the tacos: place a schmear of the lime cream on the bottom of each tortilla, then a scoop of the the black bean & onion filling, tuck the avocado slices along the sides, and top with the shredded aged cheddar. Serve with the marinated zucchini on the side. Watch your meat-eating Midwestern husband happily destroy his veggie tacos, and know you are victorious. Wish him luck in his D&D game, while not seeming like you are shoeing him out of the living room so you can crochet & Netflix with your puppy.
