One of the best things about spending more time in the kitchen over the years is gaining a more expanded view of traditional meals. Growing up, our mom made regular ground beef tacos frequently, which are good, but there is a whole world of tacos out there to be explored. We’ve made a few different ones, but our favorite is this recipe for black bean tacos, served with pico de gallo and avocado. Not only is this meal really simple to make (calling for ingredients that are easily accessible and taking very little time to cook), but it’s delicious and filling as well. We’ve made these tacos at least four or five times and each time they are devoured. The pico de gallo recipe we like comes from a Mexican restaurant in New York City and it is wonderful- make a double batch and enjoy the leftovers with tortilla chips!

Black Bean Tacos with Pico de Gallo and Avocado

Serves 4-6

Recipe for the tacos from Annie’s Eats, and pico de gallo via Epicurious

Ingredients

For the pico de gallo:

3/4 pound tomatoes (about 2 medium), seeded and finely diced (1 1/2 cups)

1/3 cup chopped cilantro

1/4 cup finely chopped onion

1 small jalapeño or serrano chile, finely chopped (include seeds if you like your pico de gallo spicy)

1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice

1/2 teaspoon fine salt, or 1 teaspoon kosher salt

For the tacos:

2 tsp. olive oil

½ cup finely chopped onion

2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed

¾ tsp. kosher salt

¾ tsp. ground cumin

½ tsp. ground chipotle powder

Dash ground cayenne

2½-3 cups cooked black beans (about 2 cans, drained and rinsed)

1 cup veggie broth or water

Juice of 1 lime (be careful- if your lime is really juicy, don’t add all the juice)

Flour tortillas

Pico de gallo

Avocado slices

Directions

For the pico de gallo:

Stir together all the ingredients together in a bowl- you can make it up to a day in advance (make sure to drain off any extra liquid before serving if you make it ahead).

For the tacos:

Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion and sauté until it begins to soften, about 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic, salt, cumin, chipotle powder and cayenne and cook just until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

Stir in the beans and then the veggie broth.  Bring to a simmer, then reduce the heat to medium-low and continue to simmer for about 8-10 minutes until almost all of the liquid has evaporated and the beans are tender.  Remove from the heat and stir in the lime juice.

Assemble tacos with tortillas, pico de gallo and sliced avocado. Enjoy!