Sweet Potato and Black Bean Tacos

 

There is just something about tacos,burritos,enchiladas etc. that I simply cannot resist!

Maybe it's because I am a full out dough/starch-head at heart or the fact that you can fill a tortilla - which are already delicious - with delicious ingredients like roasted sweet potatoes, citrus lime black beans, and citrus-y coleslaw to create the PERFECT Sunday (monday, tuesday, wednesday, thursday, friday, or saturday) night meal.

 

I absolutely LOVE coleslaw but not those creamy coleslaws - I like to stay away from those. EEEK! A nice, simple coleslaw like the one in these tacos is just one of the components that makes this meal awesome.

Did I not mention the ROASTED-to-perfection sweet potatoes and citrus black beans?

Oh...I did? Well, I just thought I should say it again because it's hard to get any better than those three things having a rock star party in a lightly warmed tortilla and heading toward your mouth.

As soon as we saw this Sweet Potato, Black Bean Taco recipe here, we just knew they had to be a part of our near future.

 

And these beauties did not disappoint on flavour or appearance!!! Bright orange contrasted against the coleslaw. You know what I'm talking about! We couldn't get enough orange (as you can see by my orange dress) so we added some sauteed orange peppers to the recipe and they added eve more scrumptiousness.

So, I hope that when you make these (and you will) that you will enjoy them as much as we did!

Black Bean and Sweet Potato Tacos

adapted from Joy the Baker

For the Potatoes:

2 sweet potatoes (really orange-fleshed yams), peeled and cut into small cubes

1 tablespoon olive oil

salt and red chili flakes to taste

juice of 1 lime

For the Cabbage Slaw:
2 heaping cups shredded cabbage (I used a combination of purple and green cabbage) you could use a packaged  bag of shredded coleslaw like we did but had we had a head of cabbage on hand we definitely have used it
1/4 cup finely diced yellow onions
2 heaping tablespoons chopped cilantro
juice of 2 limes
salt and red chili flakes to taste

For the Beans:
1 teaspoon olive oil
1/4 cup finely diced yellow onion
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 (15-ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed
juice of 1 lime
small corn tortillas

Optional 

Peppers - any colour and as much as you would like

the leftover onion sliced thin

Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat oven to 400 degrees F.  Place peeled and diced sweet potatoes on a cookie sheet.  Top with olive oil, salt and chili flakes, and lime juice.  Toss together until all of the potato chunks are coated.  Place in the oven to bake until softened through and toasted brown.  This usually takes about 40 minutes.   Remove the cookie sheet once or twice during baking to toss the potato chunks around.  This will ensure that the cubes cook evenly.  Remove from the oven and let stand when cooked through.

While the potatoes cook, assemble the Cabbage Slaw.  In a medium bowl, place cabbage, yellow, and chopped cilantro.  Add lime juice, salt and chili flakes.  Toss to coat and set aside while the potatoes cook and beans heat.  Letting the cabbage slaw sit will help soften the cabbage.


To cook the beans, heat olive oil in a medium saucepan.  Add onions and cook until transluscent, about 3 minutes.  Add ground cumin and stir until fragrant.  Add beans and lime juice.  Cook until heated through.
Heat corn tortillas in a hot saucepan with just a touch of oil.  Heat through and serve with potatoes, beans, and slaw.

For the Pepper and Onion Mixture:

Add some olive oil to a sautee pan and add the onion and pepper to it. Sautee until slightly browned or to whatever level of doneness you prefer.