Butternut Squash and Black Bean Tacos

Mmmmm, Yummmmmy.... Katie has put together quite the delicious recipe for you all!  Enjoy :)

I love tacos. Fish tacos, tempeh tacos, chicken tacos veggie tacos…all delicious and a healthier option at restaurants depending on how you order them. If you want to make good tacos at home, it takes time and a lot of prep, but it’s definitely worth it. My roommate has made tacos with sweet potato and black beans before that sound amazing, but I like to keep carbs low in my evening meals so swapped the sweet potato with butternut squash, and flour tortillas with corn (gluten free). I also made crispy black beans and a cabbage and onion salad/slaw for more veggies. Feel free to make them your own, but here’s how I made mine:

What you need:

* 1 cup butternut squash, cubed (you can get a package of pre-cubed squash at Trader Joe’s, but cut it smaller so it cooks faster)
* 1 package shredded purple or green cabbage
* Green onions (also called scallion or spring onions)
* 1 can black beans (get NO sodium. I use the Cuban style black beans from Trader Joe’s)
* Corn tortillas
* Red wine vinegar
* Fresh lime juice
* Cumin
* Salt, pepper, hot sauce, salsa (use all to taste)


Prep:

Butternut Squash: Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Put cubed butternut squash on a cookie sheet sprayed with olive oil spray. Salt and pepper the cubed squash. Roast in oven for 25-30 min, until soft

Slaw: Place shredded cabbage in a bowl. Thinly slice as much scallion as you’d like and add it to the cabbage. Add about 3-4 tablespoons of red wine vinegar and 2 tablespoons of fresh lime juice. Use pepper to taste. Toss to coat all the cabbage. Taste the slaw and then you can decide if you need any more of anything.


Black Beans: Drain and rinse black beans. Mix with 1 teaspoon cumin and a tiny bit of salt. Spray a small sauté pan with olive oil spray and add black beans over medium heat. Flatten beans into one layer with a fork and mash a little. Once the beans are hot they’ll start to get a little crispy (you’ll hear sizzling). Move around in the pan to prevent burning.


Tortillas: Place one tortilla at a time over the open flame on your stove top until char marks appear (maybe 1 minute). Or you can heat in the microwave, whatever you prefer.


Eat:

Layer each tortilla (two were plenty filling) with black beans, then squash, then slaw. Feel free to add as much hot sauce or salsa as you like. A little extra lime juice never hurts either. Enjoy!


Happy chomping,

Katie