Tostados with Black Beans, Jicama Slaw, Carrot Salsa and Feta.

After having jicama at a friend’s house last weekend, I thought I should make something with this seldom used (at least in my house) root vegetable. I found a recipe for Jicama Slaw in my latest library acquisition: The Real Food Daily Cookbook by Ann Gentry. She also has a recipe for Carrot Salsa that I adapted for tonight’s dinner. I figured it would be a pleasant departure from tomato salsa.

I’ll get straight to the point, the tostados  were fantastic. In fact, when EPC saw me putting them together he remarked that he could already tell that dinner was going to be amazing.

It was amazing: a crisp oven baked corn tortilla, topped with black beans, crumbled feta cheese, jicama slaw, carrot salsa, and a dollop of guacamole. All the flavours and textures worked really well together, plus it was a fun casual dinner – perfect for a Friday night.

The only thing that went wrong (other than forgetting to make the guacamole until the last minute) was that all 6 limes I bought produced a few meager tablespoons of juice between them.  Certainly, not enough to add the amount of tang needed.  In the recipes below I have suggest 3 tablespoons, but feel free to add more if you like.  Anyway, lesson learned. I picked up a bottle of Real Lime this weekend in case I need saving in the future.

Kelley’s Black Beans

1 19 oz can of black beans, undrained
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1 roma tomato, diced
1 1/2 teaspoons cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
Cayenne pepper, crushed red chilies, or a jalapeno to taste(I did not add any heat this time)

• Saute the onion and garlic for about 5-7 minutes until soft (add jalapeno now, if using).
• Add the seasoning and stir to coat.
• Add black beans and their liquid and the tomatoes.  Increase heat until beans are bubbling.
• Reduce heat and simmer uncovered, stirring occasionally for 30 minutes.
• For tostados, remove from heat and let cool before assembling.

Carrot Salsa

2 cups approximately 4-5 medium carrots, coarsely grated
1/4 cup of cilantro, finely chopped
1/4 cup of red onion, finely chopped
3 tablespoons of lime juice, or more to taste
1/4 teaspoon of salt

• Put the carrots in a bowl and mix with cilantro, onion,  lime juice and salt.
• Let sit 20 minutes

Jicama Slaw

2 cups of jicama, peeled and coarsely grated.
3/4 teaspoon lime zest
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
3 tablespoons of lime juice, or more to taste

• Squeeze the grated jicama to reduce its water content so it can absorb the lime juice (you will be surprised by how much water is in this vegetable!)
• In a bowl combine the lime zest, lemon zest, lime juice and salt, and mix well.
• Add the jicama and stir together
• Let sit 20 minutes before serving

Oven Baked Tortillas

8 6-inch corn tortillas

• Preheat oven to 350°C
• You will need to do this in batches or use two cookie sheets.
• Spray both sides of 4 corn tortillas lightly with oil, lay on a cookie sheet.  It is ok if they overlap.
• Bake for 5 minutes and turn.  Bake another 3 minutes, or until crispy.
• Let cool before topping

Tostado Assembly

• Top cooled oven baked tortilla with a couple of spoonfuls of warm black beans.
• Follow with crumbled feta cheese, a couple of spoonfuls of the jicama slaw and carrot salsa.
• Finish with a dollop of guacamole.
• Serve 3-4 tostados per person

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