Black Bean Tostadas

It seems like I am starting every dinner blog this week by saying this is one of our favorite meals. Well, tonight's meal was no exception. :) Some weeks are a greatest hits type of week, some weeks are a recently released type of week, and some weeks are Ekletikos. This week is a Greatest Hits week.

I used to think of this meal as taking awhile to make and being a lot of work. I've since figured out ways to make this a quick and easy meal. Originally I made guacamole for this, but since I can't find avocados locally, I have let the guacamole go by the wayside. I also made the salsa for this the night before (a very basic salsa--a couple of tomatoes coarsely chopped, a couple of T chopped cilantro, a little bit of chopped Poblano peppers, and the juice of 1/2 a lemon or lime). So this meal took no time at all.

To make it, I sauted one chopped onion, one large clove of minced garlic, 1 t cumin, and 1 t coriander in olive oil in a large skillet. Once they were tender, I added one can of black beans (drained) and mashed them with a potato masher/pastry blender. Then I added the juice of one orange and one chopped tomato. I turned the heat down to low and let simmer until the tortillas were fried.

If you don't want to fry your own tortillas, you can probably find fried tortillas at a grocery store. I just fry my own. I am a lousy fry-er so I figure all the practice I can get helps. Use corn tortillas. I figure on about 2 per person (we like leftovers). There is enough beans for about 6 - 8 tortillas. Fry each tortilla in a small pan of hot canola (or your choice of oil) briefly on each side--until the tortilla is crispy but not browned.

To serve, take a tortilla. Top with some beans and then follow with some grated cheese, the salsa, and sour cream. If you have lettuce, that is great on top of the cheese (before the salsa). Curtis and I vary slightly on the order--he likes his cheese right on top of the tortilla so the beans are more likely to melt it. Curtis, J, and I loved the meal. Madeleine complained because it had black beans. We offered her leftover chicken from the night before, but all she wanted was a tortilla with cheese on top. She had one of those and then was cut off until she ate something slightly more nutritious.