I was trying to figure out what to have for supper using the leftover roast chicken from the other night. One idea was just straight leftovers from that meal plus some extras thrown in and the other was chicken tacos and black beans. Obviously the chicken tacos won out. Once tacos were settled on then came the question of what to put in them with the chicken. Having two Kohlrabi left I decided to improvise a slaw for the tacos to give some crunch and some added texture.
For the black beans I used some of the dry beans from our garden this year. I'll save the canned ones for making a black bean hummus. Since this was decided on last minute that meant I'd get to play with my electric pressure cooker. I tried a new seasoning mix with this batch and I believe this will now be the go to recipe for us.
I also had the choice of either using store bought flour tortillas or making tortillas with masa. Oh by the way, I don't have a tortilla press. Given the time that the black beans would take I elected to make the tortillas. Making them myself meant they'd be fresh and they'd be smaller and more like what you'd get from a street vendor. I used a recipe from Chef Rick Bayless. I would prefer corn tortillas over flour tortillas for this application.
In the end, the good wife and I each ate two servings of everything. Needless to say, we skipped having popcorn last night. Yes, the black beans especially were that good.
Pressure Cooker Black Beans
2 cups dry Black Beans
4 - 6 oz bacon
1 medium onion
1 - 2 tsp salt
1 - 2 tsp pepper
1 - 2 tsp roasted ground cumin
6 cups water
2 Tbs oil
Put oil in pressure cooker and turn on sear function to get hot. Cut bacon into thin match sticks. Add to the pressure cooker. Finely dice the onion and add to pressure cooker once the bacon has started to render and brown a bit. Stir the onion and bacon together and cook till the onion starts to turn translucent. Add the salt, pepper, and cumin and stir. Add the 2 cups black beans and stir. Put in the water and put the lid on the pressure cooker. Program the pressure cooking function for 45 minutes. Once the timer goes off, release pressure according to the manufacturer's instructions. Stir well and serve. They can be garnished with cilantro if desired.
I used part of a package of ends and pieces from slicing my last batch of bacon but any good bacon will work. The 6 cups of water makes a fair bit of broth so if you don't want quite as much reduce it to 5 cups.
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| Kohlrabi slaw |
2 Kohlrabi
1 medium carrot
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 Tbs olive oil
1 Tbs apple cider vinegar
Shred the kohlrabi and the carrot. Put in a bowl and add the salt and pepper. Mix well. Add the olive oil and apple cider vinegar and mix well. Refrigerate until ready to use.
The apple cider vinegar was made in my kitchen at the end of last year's cider. I should probably do a post about that since the flavor is better than what is commercially available. Apple cider vinegar is easy to do and would be a good into to home fermentation. Plus, a tablespoon or two added to a glass of water makes a tasty drink.
Tortillas
1 3/4 cup masa harina
1 cup plus 2 Tbs hot tap water
Put both in a bowl and mix till a smooth dough is formed. Let sit for 15 minutes. Divide into 15 pieces and form into balls. Flatten to 1/8 inch thick with tortilla press. Cook on griddle. Put on a towel and cover to hold till all are cooked.
The best griddle is one that covers two burners on the stove but two skillets can be used also. Turn one burner on medium and the other on medium high. After you remove the tortilla from the press put it on the side that is on medium. Let it cook for 30 seconds. Flip it and move to the medium high side. Cook till brown spots appear. Flip and cook the other side till brown spots appear.
As I said previously, I don't have a tortilla press. I put a square of plastic wrap on my cutting board, put a masa ball in the center, covered it with another square of plastic wrap, then flattened it with a cake pan. If it wasn't quite thin enough I finished it with a rolling pin.
To build the tacos, start by laying two of the tortillas on a plate slightly over-lapping. Put a good layer of Kohlrabi slaw down the middle. Then top it with chopped roast chicken. Serve with a bowl of Black Beans.
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| Black beans with Roasted Chicken Tacos |
I hope you give these a try. Black Beans are easy to find and they an excellent source of protein, vitamins, and dietary fiber not to mention they are quite tasty. If you do give these a try let me know what you think.
Uncle T
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