Black Bean and Poblano Tacos
- Total Time
- 30 minutes, plus time to soak and cook beans
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- ½pound black beans, rinsed and soaked 4 to 6 hours, or overnight if possible
- 1small onion, halved
- 1bay leaf
- 1large sprig epazote (optional)
- 1teaspoon salt
- 4poblano chiles
- Soft corn tortillas
- ½pound fresh mozzarella or Oaxacan-style string cheese, shredded
- ½pound queso fresco, available in Latino groceries
- 8ounces crème fraîche or Mexican crema
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Preparation
- Step 1
Drain beans, put in medium pot, add water to cover and bring to a boil over hight heat. Add onion, bay leaf, epazote and salt and reduce heat to a gentle simmer. Cook for about 1 hour, longer if necessary, adding water occasionally if liquid falls below surface of beans. When beans are tender, taste and adjust salt. Keep beans warm in their broth.
- Step 2
Meanwhile, roast poblano chiles over a charcoal grill, under the broiler or directly on a gas stovetop burners until skins are completely blackened and blistered. Set chiles aside to cool, then split lengthwise. Scrape away skins and seeds with a paring knife. Cut cleaned chiles into ½-inch ribbons, transfer to small bowl and season lightly with salt.
- Step 3
To serve, warm the tortillas on a hot griddle or cast iron pan over a burner. Put 2 warm tortillas side by side on a small plate. With a slotted spoon, place 2 tablespoons beans on each tortilla. Top with a few shreds of mozzarella and 2 or 3 strips of poblano. Crumble a little queso fresco and drizzle about 1 teaspoon crème fraîche on each taco.
Private Notes
Comments
A quick notation on what epazote is and where it can be found would be helpful.
If you live in NYC, the Essex Street Market has dried epazote and also I just picked some up on Saturday at the farmers market in Tribeca. It is a game changer for the black beans as it adds a nice earthiness flavor. It's easy to grow too because it's like a weed, so seeds from Amazon could be an option.
No epazote to be found, but love this recipe. I'm now preparing it again. 1st time doubled the recipe for a dinner party/mexican fiesta for 20 people, taco bar style. Delicious! Roasted poblano's were awesome. This weekend once again, party of 12. Served with NYT's tortilla soup, fish tacos, tangy slaw, pickled radishes & shallots, & watermelon agua fresco & Margarita's. Fantastic! Don't forget the tomatillo "quick green salsa" Martha Rose Shulman.
Some people were asking why use epazote so thought I'd answer that one. It helps reduce tooting after eating beans haha Try it, it's worth it if you can find it
I decided I was making this too late to use dried beans, so used two cans. Sautéed an onion, then threw in the beans, peppers and all the spices, had to use dried epazote, which I got from my local hispanic grocery store. I happened to find some cilantro/lime crema, wonderful addition! We used the queso fresco but no mozzarella. I really enjoyed these! Will make again
I was looking for a simple bean recipe to use in breakfast burritos, and this one was perfect. I wasn't able to find epazote (admittedly, I didn't try very hard), and I'm still thrilled with the depth of flavor conveyed by the onion, the bay leaf, and the salt. Versatile and impossible to screw up, definitely a keeper.
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