Black Bean Squash Tacos

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My instagram feed is filled with tacos these days… When I travel to California I eat tacos, and when Tuesday night rolls around, I eat tacos. I mean, you can’t go wrong with salsa, guacamole, corn tortillas and whatever ingredients you crave go in a taco:)

I prefer homemade, soft shell tortillas made with corn flour. But I don’t always have the luxury of time to make them and, although they’re easy, they are still time consuming. Most times I buy the corn tortillas and they work just fine.

I am always playing around with different flavours and textures in my tacos. I sometimes do fish or prawn tacos but most of the time I keep it vegan and load them up with beans and veggies. But really it’s all about the spices and condiments right, so make sure to have quality salsa (homemade is the best), good hot sauce and ripe avocadoes. If you get these ingredients right,  they’re guaranteed to taste amazing.

This recipe features butternut squash of all things. The squash creates such a great texture and really absorbs all of the great flavours.

I’m sure you’ll love them for the taste – as a bonus, they’re also super easy to make and are budget friendly.

Enjoy!

WHAT YOU NEED

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  • 1 Butternut squash cubed
  • 1 large red bell pepper chopped
  • 1 large onion chopped
  • 1 clove of garlic crushed
  • 2 tsp cumin (I use way more but I love the stuff)
  • 1/2 tsp of cayenne (or to taste)
  • 1-2 ripe avocadoes
  • 1 can black beans (rinsed and drained)
  • 1 cup (approximately) of your favourite salsa
  • corn tortillas shells (I buy the big bags of 30 at my local produce store but I know that Nesters and Whole Foods also carry soft corn tortilla shells.)
  • Garnish with lime and cilantro

WHAT TO DO

  1. Start by preparing the squash. Use a nice big frying pan and cook the cubed squash with little olive oil and salt and pepper to taste. Add a little water if it gets to sticky on the bottom, and stir often for about 10-15 mins until the squash is cooked and soft. Remove from the pan and set aside.
  2. Warm the tortillas wrapped in tin-foil in the oven on low heat. (If you forget – heat them in the microwave for 30 seconds)
  3. Now add a little more olive oil to the pan and saute the onion, garlic, cumin, cayenne and red pepper for 5-7 mins.
  4. Add the can of rinsed black beans and the cooked squash into the pan and continue to cook until everything mixes all together.
  5. Cut up the avocado into small cubes or slices.
  6. Now its time to build your tacos! I always put the warm stuff down first then add the avocado and salsa.
  7. Garnish with cilantro and a squeeze of lime and gobble up!

This recipe can be modified as you need to by using different types of squash or beans. Want some cheese or chicken? Go for it! That would be yummy as well:)

Enjoying your food is important and one of life’s simple pleasures.

xoxo

Rebecca