1 ingredient black bean tacos

Gluten-free, Corn-free and Vegan!

If you love your Mexican but miss out on tacos because you don’t eat grains or corn, you’ll love this beany alternative. They’re an excellent source of protein and are packed with gut – loving dietary fibre. They’re also vegan and can be made oil free. 

We must thank Camilla Saulsbury of Power Hungry for the inspiration for these ingenious, one ingredient tacos. This recipe is a perfect addition to our gluten free and grain free blender bread recipes and shows the versatility of our new Vibe Blender System. Like all our Vibe Blender recipes, this is incredibly simple to make, but the black beans do require soaking, so a little forward planning is required. However, after the soak and a quick rinse, the batter is ready to cook in minutes. Don’t be tempted to short cut it and use canned black beans - as we did in a second experiment  - they just don’t hold together! 

Because of its colour, the black bean batter looks most unlike food. Camilla is quite right to say it looks just like cement! It also has a mildly noticeable odour which had me concerned. Rest assured though that when stuffed with your favourite Mexican fillings, these tacos taste sensational and hold up as good as any grain-based taco.

Cooking with black bean batter takes a little getting used to. The mixture is thick (it doesn’t just look like cement!) and doesn’t spread itself like regular batters. However, adding more water is not the solution. Simply pour the batter into the centre of your pan and spread out into a larger circular shape with a silicon spatula. After a few wonky, misshaped taco’s I’m sure you’ll get the hang of it.

WATCH THE RECIPE VIDEO HERE

INGREDIENTS

1 cup dry black beans
Approx. 2 cups of water (for soaking)
1 ½ cups water (for batter)
¼ teaspoon salt
Olive oil for cooking

METHOD

Soaking black beans
1.   Combine the beans and 2 cups of the water in a medium bowl and let stand at room temperature, for at least 12 hours. The beans will swell and absorb some of the water.
2.    Drain the beans in a colander or sieve and rinse under running water.  
Making the batter
3.    Add the beans, 1 ½ cups water and the salt to the Luvele Vibe blender jug and blend on 'Nut' mode for 50 seconds or until smooth. It will be grey with flecks of black and purple.

4.    Heat a heavy based, well-seasoned, non-stick pan to medium heat.
5.    Brush with a fine coating of oil. If you have a well-seasoned pan, the tacos can be cooked without oil.
6.    Once warm, add ¼ cup of batter to the centre of the pan then use a spatula to spread the batter outward into a larger circle. (The batter is too thick to spread by tilting the pan). Don’t be tempted to add more water to the batter. It must be thick like cement. The cooking process may take some practise, but the batter is very forgiving and there is time to carefully shape the batter as it adheres to the pan and cooks.

7.    Cook for about 2 minutes until surface of taco appears dry and forms narrow cracks. Flip and cook the other side for another minute.
8.    Transfer to cooling rack and allow to cool completely before stacking.
9.    Repeat the process with the remaining batter.
10.  The wraps are delicious cold but can be reheated on a tray in the oven.
11.   Perfect topped with any of your Mexican favourite. 
12.   Black bean tacos can be stacked and stored air-tight in the fridge for up to 5 days or frozen for up to 3 months.

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