I get magazines from my healthcare provider. I get flyers and brochures from my grocery store. I get another magazine from AARP. I used to get a complimentary copy of Our Wisconsin magazine. In every single one of these publications there were recipes. The health one of course was trying to get me to eat healthy, the grocery one wanted me to buy the ingredients for their family friendly recipes at their store, AARP mostly featured articles on how to eat well after fifty or how to maintain a healthy weight and the Wisconsin one featured recipes with local ingredients, mostly sent in by their subscribers. I pretty much glanced at them or just ignored them completely. My husband does most of the cooking and his go-to is the New York Times food section or food shows or just our own cookbooks.
Lately we have been going through a lot of stuff that has been piling up, mostly in preparation for a big remodeling project we will be embarking on, starting in April. I thought I would attack the magazines and flyers. For each I did a quick flip just to see if there was an article I had missed. This pile wasn't just the ones I previously mentioned but there were Smithsonians, Bookmarks Magazine, Sierra Club Magazine and Audubon. Naturally these last ones did not have recipes. Anyway, just as I was about to close up the latest healthcare magazine my eye caught on a recipe called, Smoky Roasted Sweet Potato and Black Bean Tacos. Well, we love sweet potatoes and had just picked up a few the other day. There was a can of black beans in the pantry and Curt was game to make them. But since we were short kale and a jalapeno we added those to our grocery list and decided to try these tacos the following evening.
Smoky Roasted Sweet Potato and Black Bean Tacos
Ingredients:
2 C sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed (about 1 medium)
4 tsp olive oil
1 1/2 tsp chipotle chili powder (or regular chili powder)
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 C medium yellow onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 jalapeno, seeded and finely chopped
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
4 C shredded kale
2 tsp lime juice
1/3 C low-fat sour cream
1 Tbls skim milk
tortillas (corn or flour)
lime wedges
Directions:
Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
1. In a medium bowl, combine the sweet potatoes, 2 tsp oil, 1/2 tsp chili powder and salt. Toss to coat. Arrange the potatoes on a baking sheet and roast 10-15 minutes, until tender and lightly browned, set aside.
2. In a large nonstick skillet, heat 1 tsp oil over med. heat. Add onion, garlic and jalapeno. Cook, stirring, until the vegetables are softened, about 2-3 minutes. Add the black beans, 1/2 tsp chilli powder and the sweet potatoes. Cook, stirring, until hot, about 1-2 minutes. Remove from heat.
3. In a medium bowl, combine the kale with the remaining 1 tsp of oil. With your hands, massage the oil into the kale. (This step is important to soften the leaves and infuse them with the oil). Add 1 tsp lime juice and set aside.
4. In a small bowl, combine the sour cream, milk, remaining 1/4 tsp chili powder and remaining tsp of lime juice. We used a purchased Crema instead.
5. To assemble, put some of the potato/bean mixture into the tortilla of your choice. We used flour ones which we briefly toasted on the flame of our gas stove but you can warm them in your oven or microwave. If you use corn tortillas we suggest you double them as they break easily when folded. Heating these in the microwave works well. Top with some of the kale slaw and the chipotle crema. Serve lime wedges on the side.
So, how did they taste? They were good but not great. They need something more. The recipe suggests additional toppings of tomatoes, red onions and radishes and I could see those adding to the flavor. What I did instead was drizzle on top of mine some salsa which made a big difference. Would I make them again? Yes but definitely with a tomato salsa or a tomatilla salsa verde. Bottom line, don't ignore those recipes that appear in unlikely places but be prepared to give them a shot of your own creativity.
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