|
|
|
Here’s what’s for dinner tonight.
|
|
|
|
|
By
G. Daniela Galarza
|
Email
|
|
|
What’s all this about? Monday
through Thursday, I'll take one thing off your to-do list: What to have for dinner. I'll share at
least one recipe, along with tips and a few things I’m loving right now,
all in your inbox. Did a friend forward this to you?
Sign up here.
|
Tacos de aguacate
A handful of years ago, I moved to Mexico City for a short stint. I
lived in a small studio on the top floor of a two-story building. My downstairs neighbor, a woman
named Maria, had a remarkably lush avocado tree in
her backyard. Some mornings, as I sipped my coffee, I’d watch her wander outside, humming all the
while, to pick an avocado or two. That’s my kind of luxury, I remember thinking.
The first time Maria invited me over for a meal, we dined outside,
near her pots of herbs and flowering strawberry plants. On the wooden table was a pitcher of lime
and mango agua fresca, a plate of tortillas
half-wrapped in a towel, a bowl of deep red salsa and a small cutting board.
“I didn’t really cook, I hope you don’t mind,” she said, “We’re
having avocado tacos.” She twisted three avocados off a branch, swiftly halved and pitted them
with a small knife, and, using a spoon, scooped some of
their flesh into a warm tortilla. A drizzle of salsa, a squeeze of lime and there it was: dinner.
I must have eaten at least half a dozen avocado tacos that night. The
heat of the salsa tempered the buttery fruit as it melted into the warm, tender corn tortillas.
This recipe, with a pico de gallo that features
summer tomatoes and black beans, is a nod to Maria’s avocado tacos.
First, make the salsa. There’s a lot of chopping involved, but I
think pico de gallo is best when it’s chopped by hand. That said, there’s an easy way to speed
things up: Roughly chop the tomatoes, onion, chile,
cilantro and garlic and then pulse the vegetables in a food processor until they form a chunky
salsa. Then, stir in the black beans. They’ll add a velvety texture and a bit of protein to the
meal.
To serve, heat the tortillas, and then do as Maria did: Halve, pit
and scoop chunks of avocado onto each tortilla, top it with the salsa and eat!
|
|
ADVERTISEMENT
|
|
Today's recipe
|
|
Photos by Rey Lopez for The Washington Post; food styling by Lisa Cherkasky for The Washington
Post
|
|
Avocado Tacos With Black Bean Pico de Gallo
Pico de gallo is arguably the most common salsa fresca in Mexico.
Because it’s not cooked, it’s best made with summer tomatoes. A touch of onion, garlic, cilantro
and lime juice add lots of flavor, and here, it’s
fortified with cooked black beans. Feel free to play around with it:
- Use peaches, mangos or bell peppers in place of some of the tomatoes.
- Scallions instead of the onion or garlic
- Parsley or mint instead of the cilantro
- Try pinto or lentils instead of the black beans
And feel free to add to it: Crumbled queso fresco, feta, firm tofu,
green olives, additional herbs, more chiles, grapes, corn or diced zucchini would be nice
additions.
Want to save this recipe?
View it on Voraciously here and click the bookmark icon below the serving size at the top
of the page to
add it to your Reading
List.
For easy printing and
scaling, view this recipe in our Recipe Finder.
Servings:
4
Total time:
25 mins
Ingredients
- 2 medium ripe tomatoes (12 ounces total), cut into 1/4-inch dice
- 1/2 medium white onion (4 ounces), cut into 1/4-inch dice
- 1 small jalapeño or serrano pepper (2 ounces), seeded and cut into 1/4-inch dice (use half for
a less-spicy salsa)
- 1 clove garlic, minced or finely grated
- 1/4 cup fresh lime juice (from 2 to 3 limes), plus more as needed
- 1/4 cup (1/2 ounce) chopped fresh cilantro leaves and tender stems
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea or table salt, plus more as needed
- 1 tablespoon avocado or olive oil (optional)
- 1 cup (6 ounces) canned or cooked and drained black beans (optional)
- 8 small tortillas, preferably corn
- 4 medium ripe Hass avocados (1 1/2 pounds total), halved and pitted
Steps
- In a medium, nonreactive bowl, combine the tomatoes, onion, jalapeño or serrano, garlic, lime
juice, cilantro, salt and oil, if using. Stir in the black beans, if using. Taste, and season
with additional salt and/or lime juice, if desired.
-
Warm the tortillas in a lightly oiled skillet over medium-high heat, or briefly char over the
grates of a gas burner.
- To serve, use a spoon to scoop an avocado half into each tortilla. Mash it slightly so it
stays in place, and top with at least 1/4 cup of the pico de gallo.
Nutrition information per (2 taco) serving:
Calories: 469; Total Fat: 27g; Saturated Fat: 4g; Cholesterol: 0mg; Sodium: 337mg; Carbohydrates:
55g; Dietary Fiber: 20g; Sugars: 6g; Protein: 11g.
|
|
|
|
Dessert
|
|
ADVERTISEMENT
|
|
|
|
See you Monday!
|
Did you miss a recipe?
View all past recipes featured in this
newsletter in our Recipe Finder.
|
Have a question or
suggestion? Email me at
eatvoraciously@washpost.com
or message
@eatvoraciously on Instagram.
|
Share your recipe photos with
us on
Instagram
by tagging
#eatvoraciously.
|
G. Daniela
Galarza
is a staff writer for
Voraciously
from Washington Post Food.
|
|
|
We think you’ll like this newsletter
Check out
Plant Powered by Voraciously
for our 12-week guide to cooking more plant-forward meals. Recipes, techniques and tips on
Tuesdays.
Sign up »
|
|
|
|
|