Crunchy. Creamy. Delicious.
These tostadas began as a memory of one of the first meals I cooked:
I made them all by myself, brushing the corn tortillas with vegetable oil and crisping them in hot oven until they emerged, crunchy and delicious.
When I decided to recreate them for the cookbook, I dug through my family recipe file and discovered what time had conveniently allowed me to forget:
We had topped those crispy, delicious tortillas with a mixture of canned chicken chunks, mayonnaise, jarred salsa, and pre-shredded Monterey Jack cheese.
I decided to reboot the entire recipe.
These Black Bean and Sweet Potato Tostadas with Lime Crema are the result—and they delicious! The spicy sweet potato nuggets perfectly contrast against the creamy black beans, while a dollop of tangy lime crema punctuated with a sprinkling of pickled red onions provides the perfect pop of sour acidity. And of course there’s that crispy shell.
Besides being delicious, these tostadas are both simple to make and extremely practical. Most of the ingredients are easy to find and store in your pantry, and while there are several different components to the recipe, everything can be made ahead and separately stored. When you want a quick, weeknight meal—or let’s be honest, even a snack—all you have to do is crisp up a tortilla, heat up a few fillings, and you’ve got a crunchy delicious meal at your fingertips.
I am not bashing my parents’ cooking. Much of their food would stand up to anything I could cook today. There are even recipes that I would never dream of touching because I could never make them taste as good as my parents did. However, in this case, I can promise that these tostadas are not only infinitely tastier than the ones I grew up with, but absolutely delicious any way you look at them.
Enjoy!
Black Bean and Sweet Potato Tostadas with Lime Crema
Serves 6-8, with lots of yummy, versatile leftovers!
For the black beans:
1 cup dried black beans*
2 teaspoons Diamond Crystal Kosher salt, divided
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup black beans
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon cumin
½ teaspoon oregano
2 teaspoons lime juice
For the blackened sweet potatoes:
2 sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into ½-inch cubes
2 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 teaspoon Diamond Crystal Kosher salt
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon paprika
½ teaspoon cumin
½ teaspoon oregano
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
For the lime crema:
½ cup sour cream
½ teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt
1 tablespoon lime juice
For the pickled onions:
1 red onion, sliced thinly
¾ cup white wine vinegar
½ teaspoon Diamond Crystal Kosher salt
½ teaspoon honey
To assemble:
24 corn tortillas
Vegetable oil as needed
Method
For the black beans:
Heat beans, 1 ½ teaspoons salt, and 2 cups water to boiling in a small saucepan. Boil two minutes, then remove from the heat, cover, and let stand for one hour.
Preheat a large deep pot over medium-high heat. Add oil to the pan and swirl to distribute, then add chopped pepper, onion, garlic, and ½ teaspoon salt. Cook, stirring, for about five minutes, or until vegetables are softened. Add the beans, bay leaf, cumin, oregano, remaining ½ teaspoon salt, and enough water to cover the beans by at least four inches. Bring the mixture to a boil and reduce heat to medium-low. Cover and simmer for 60-70 minutes, or until beans are cooked through.
Add lime juice, taste, and season with additional salt or lime juice as necessary. Allow to cool.
For the blackened sweet potatoes:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. In a large bowl, toss cubed sweet potatoes with oil. Sprinkle in spices and toss to coat evenly. Spread spiced sweet potatoes on a baking sheet (ideally so they’re not touching each other) and roast in the oven for 15 minutes or until they are tender but not mushy. Remove and let cool slightly.
For the pickled red onions:
Bring 2-3 cups of water to a boil on the stove (using a tea kettle is ideal). Place the sliced red onion in a colander and set over the sink. When the water is boiling, pour it carefully over the red onion, allowing the water to run down the drain. This blanches the onion, removing some of its bite.
In a large glass bowl (avoid metal or plastic), whisk together vinegar, honey, and salt. Shake any excess water off the red onions and add to the vinegar solution. Stir so the onions are evenly coated, then cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.**
For the lime crema:
Stir together sour cream and lime juice. Season with salt. Taste and add more salt or lime juice if necessary.
To assemble:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Brush tortillas on both sides with vegetable oil and place on the baking sheet. Bake in the oven for 4 minutes, turn the tortillas over, and bake 4 minutes more. Remove when the tortillas are crispy on both sides.
To assemble, spoon 2-3 tablespoons of the black beans on top of each tortilla, then top with blackened sweet potatoes. Add a dollop of lime crema, sprinkle with pickled onions on top and serve!
*If you don’t want to cook your own beans, you can substitute two 15-ounce cans of black beans. Just make sure you drain and rinse them before adding them to the softened vegetables. They won’t be as flavorful as scratch-cooked beans, and you won’t get that delicious bean-cooking liquid, but if you’re in a pinch, feel free to swap them in.
**Pickled onions will keep for a long time in the refrigerator. Make sure to store them in glass (metal might react with the vinegar and plastic containers will absorb the strong flavors). They're amazing on anything, from roasted brussel sprouts to pot roast to rice pilaf. You might even find yourself eating them straight out of the jar!
Originally posted May 2, 2020
Comments