Pinterest is my new food muse: Crunchy Black Bean and Kale Tacos - a meatless recipe for meat-lovers!

By now I'm sure most of you have heard of the wonder that is Pinterest, but if you haven't, let me tell you what a thing of beauty it is: a place to "pin" all of you ideas and inspiration on different boards to keep them organized.

My newest muse in the kitchen has been gleaning ideas for meals from Pinterest and I have to give a huge shout out to the food blog Endless Simmer for giving me the inspiration for this recipe. In fact, the recipe is mainly theirs, with one thing added that was my idea.

So it started with their recipe for Crunchy Black Bean Tacos.

I have said for a long time on this blog that I am a hearty carnivore who wishes she had the will-power to be a vegetarian, for ethical and health reasons. So I am ALWAYS looking for recipes that use vegetables with meaty tastes and textures to replace the meat rather than using unsatisfying meat substitutes.

When I saw this recipe for black bean tacos, it looked like a great meat replacement sort of dish, but I thought an even better way to amp up the meaty texture would be to add some sauteed kale to the mix.

So here is my version of Endless Simmer's Crunchy Black Bean Tacos. I'm not lying when I say these tacos were BETTER than any meat taco I've ever had. This coming from the meat-lover over here.

Meat-Lovers' Crunchy Black Bean and Kale Tacos
Adapted from Endless Simmer
Serves 4 (or 2 in my case since my husband and I each had four!)

15 oz can black beans
1 bunch kale (your preference, but I like lacinato AKA "dinosaur" kale)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup red onion, minced
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon paprika
2 tablespoons cilantro, chopped
4-6 ounces grated montery jack
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
Pinch of salt and pepper
8 corn tortillas

Strip kale of center stems and rinse and dry thoroughly. Chop into large, bite-sized pieces (keep in mind kale shrinks down quite a bit when you saute it). Heat a large, non-stick or cast iron skillet with 1 tablespoon olive oil and add minced garlic. When garlic starts to become fragrant, add the kale and saute until it wilts, stirring frequently so as not to burn the garlic.

While the kale is wilting, in a large bowl, add black beans, onion, cilantro, cumin, paprika, salt, and pepper, stir to combine and lightly mash ingredients. When kale is done wilting, add to bowl and stir to combine.

Using the same skillet you wilted the kale in, add remaining olive oil (use more if it is not enough to coat the entire bottom of the skillet) and put over medium-high heat. Put each tortilla in the hot oil for a few seconds before adding the black bean filling on one side of the tortilla and then top it with cheese. When the tortilla is pliable, fold over with a spatula and crisp on both sides.

Top with any variety of condiments you prefer such as salsa, sour cream, hot sauce, guacamole, etc.

I daresay that this dish will satisfy any meat-lover. Even my husband, who thinks that a meal isn't complete without some sort of meat involved, agreed that they had a nice, meaty texture. I don't think, however, he agreed that they were BETTER than a taco with meat in it - that was all me.

My love affair with kale

It is wholly ironic that I am writing a post about my love for a leafy green vegetable given how I never ate anything green as a child. Today,  I can't get enough green in my life.

My love for kale began, strangely enough, in Vancouver when my husband and I ate at the famous Indian restaurant Vij's.  We ordered an appetizer there that included garbanzo beans and grilled kale. I'm not lying when I tell you that the grilled kale tasted exactly like steak. I was so enamored with this dish, that I asked the waitress how it was cooked, and she happily told us that it's marinated in lemon juice and coconut milk. I have been making grilled kale marinated in lemon juice and coconut milk every summer since and it is just as good as I had it at Vij's.

The moment my love affair with kale began

But let me back up a little bit and go back to this "tastes like steak" thing because I think this is where my love for kale really developed. I have become very conscious in the past few years of my meat intake. I will never fully give up meat because I love it too much, but I also recognize the need to be kinder the planet by not consuming so much of it. So I have begun a quest in my own kitchen to create textures and flavors that are equally as satisfying. Many people run right for the mushrooms when attempting to recreate a meaty texture, but I go for the kale. Despite its leafy green categorization, it's extremely hearty and stands up to anything you do to it.

I have become a tad obsessed with finding places to add it in just about anything I cook for dinner. Earlier in the week I added it to mac and cheese, and the night before last I threw in a couple handfuls to my chicken noodle soup (and then made kale chips with the other couple handfuls). 

Using kale in two ways on one night: kale chips and in my chicken noodle soup

So if you're someone who thinks kale is just that garnish restaurants put on the side of the plate that you can throw away, I challenge you to start thinking of ways to add it to your diet. You'll be surprised at how delicious (and meaty) it is!

Incidentally, I have tried making kale chips many different times and always had problems with some turning out crispy while others were soggy. I found the best way to make kale chips is to cook them low and slow rather than high and fast. So toss them in a little olive oil and salt, put them on a baking sheet, and put them in the oven at 250 for 30 minutes and they'll come out perfectly crispy every time.

ETA: For those of you interested in grilling kale, I did a post about it a few summers ago but here is the link again. The recipe comes from the Vij's cookbook.

Rah, Rah Radishes: A Vegetable Chant by April Pulley Sayre

Rah, rah, radishes, red and white!
Carrots are calling. Take a bite!
Oh boy, bok choy, Brussels sprout.
Broccoli! Cauliflower! Shout it out!


 

With bold, colorful photographs and a fun, memorable chant as an ode to vegetables, kids are sure to get their mouths watering and asking for broccoli with dinner after reading this fun, accessible picture book.

After watching the first season of Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution a couple years ago and watching in horror and heartbreak as a classroom full of young children couldn't even recognize the simplest of vegetables, it's high time we get books like this into our classrooms and start teaching kids what REAL food looks and tastes like. By showing that vegetables are cool, colorful, and attractive, books like this can help contribute to the solution to our society's unhealthy relationship with food that begins in childhood.


Rah, Rah, Radishes: A Vegetable Chant by April Pulley Sayre
Published: June 14, 2011 by Simon & Schuster 
Pages: 32
Genre: Nonfiction picture book
Audience: Primary