Transitioning to eating mostly meatless meals can be challenging at first when you consider foods that are typically meat-centric – burgers and all manner of tortilla wrapped goods (tacos, enchiladas, etc.) come to mind. In the past, the idea of a meatless taco was something that I had a hard time getting on board with. Bringing a big variety of veggies into the mix overcomplicates things, not to mention they need to be perfectly cooked for the end result to be truly enjoyable. I’ve had them done well here and there (especially from Alex and Sonja, who make all sorts of excellent veg tacos), but in general I just made our usual chicken tacos and was content.
Recently I decided to scrap all thoughts about sautéed veggies and go back to basics. These spicy black beans are something I make often, usually as a side dish or to mix in with something else. I make them a little bit different every single time and I almost never use a recipe. This time, the beans take center stage as the taco filling. (And this time, I actually wrote down the recipe.) We topped them only with a bit of pico de gallo and sliced avocado, and wrapped them up in fresh corn tortillas. We were so amazed at how satisfying this meal was, and this is now a go-to quick meatless meal for us. Dare I say I actually prefer them to chicken tacos? Growth, people. Growth.