Beans and Sweet Potatoes

As I was perusing the recipe section of the New York Times, I came across a recipe for Refried Black Bean Soft Tacos.  It caught my eye because I love refried beans, but they are usually super bad for you when you get them at a restaurant.  It's not unusual for refried beans to be made with some kind of animal fat.  So when I read through the recipe and discovered that they were fried in just 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil, I was pleasantly surprised.  That and the fact it used so few ingredients sold me.  You can find the original recipe here.  I made a few small changes, such as adding a couple of minced garlic cloves when i put in the spices, adding some fresh cilantro just before the beans were done, and I also skipped the last two items (which weren't integral to the beans anyway).  Anyway, these beans came out so good I couldn't believe it, and it took practically no effort.  This recipe is definitely a keeper.  One important note: buy no salt added black beans if at all possible, since you need the bean liquid for this recipe.  You can't rinse them.

I went a little crazy with the garnishes for the tacos.  On the table I put out the soft flour tortillas, freshly chopped ramapo tomatoes from my garden (these are so good they deserve their own post), chopped cilantro, sliced scallions, shredded cheddar, and last but not least, the leftover peppers and onions (reheated in a skillet) from the Shrimp Fajitas I made the other night.  They might have been tastier this time around.  

As if this wasn't enough food!  I had sweet potatoes in the fridge that needed to be used, so I went for my old sweet stand-by: Chipotle Mashed Sweet Potatoes.  This is a side dish that really gives you a bang for your buck, since sweet potatoes are typically cheap, and they are chock full of nutrients.  On top of that, it's easy.

CHIPOTLE MASHED SWEET POTATOES

-sweet potatoes (about 1 per person should do it, and leave you some leftovers)

-vegetable stock

-pureed chipotle peppers, to taste

-Cut the sweet potatoes into uniformly sized cubes.  You can leave the skin on or take it off, it's up to you.  

-Put the cubes into a large pot of cold water, enough to cover them.  Bring the pot up to a gentle boil.  Cook the potatoes for 10-ish minutes, or until a fork goes easily through the pieces.

-Drain the potatoes, and toss them back into the hot pot. 

-Get your electric hand mixer ready.  If you cooked your potatoes in something cast iron, leave them there.  If not, transfer the potatoes into a glass or ceramic bowl (just make sure it can stand up to the mixer). 

-Add a splash of vegetable stock to the potatoes, and spoon in as much pureed chipotle peppers as you can handle (these suckers are spicy).  You can either buy a jar of pureed chipotles, or you can just use a small can of whole chipotles in adobo (go with Goya) and minced them up really finely.

-Mix everything together until the potatoes have reached the texture you like.  You can add more stock if need be.  Serve!