Mexican beans with paprika potatoes, avocado salsa and tortilla strips

(serves 4 to 6)

Adapted from Neighbourhood, by Hetty McKinnon

So I'm no expert on Mexican food, in fact, I would say I rarely eat it and don't even really like beans, BUT since we've decided to try out being vegetarian for a little while (at least 80% of the time), I've been scoping out some good recipes with legumes because they're a good source of protein and well, there are many health benefits of legumes. This recipe comes close to converting me over to liking beans that little bit more, so far there are only a handful of recipes I enjoy them in but we are getting there step by step. 

It's not too hard to make, a little time consuming with the different components, but the combination is excellent and well worth it! The brown rice we added was just because we had leftovers, and it did help to bulk out the meal, optional I think depending on if you have time. The addition of the roasted paprika potatoes however was awesome and I definitely recommend! This was popular with the whole family, including the toddler! The crispy tortilla strips (chips) of course was the favourite, but the rest was happily welcomed too :)

Prep time: 30 minutes

Cooking time: 45 minutes

Ingredients

400 g desiree potatoes
1 onion
2 garlic cloves

1 carrot
2 tsp cumin seeds
2 tsp paprika
2 tsp dried oregano

2 x 400 g cans of Mexican bean mix

1 x 400 g can of red kidney beans

6 tortillas (flour or corn)
1 Tbsp sunflower oil
400 g cherry tomatoes
2 capsicums
1 1/2 cups brown rice, cooked (optional)
1 lime
olive oil
salt and pepper

Creamy avocado salsa
2 large avocados (about 600g)
1 tomato
3 Tbsp natural yoghurt
juice of 1 lime
2 Tbsp olive oil
salt
1 long red chilli (optional)

Method
1. Preheat the oven to 200 C. 
2. Dice the potatoes into 1 centimetre cubes. Toss with olive oil and salt. Roast for 30 minutes, or until cooked through. Cool and toss with a sprinkle of paprika.

3. Finely dice the onion, garlic and carrot. 
4. Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add the cumin seeds, paprika and oregano and cook for 30 seconds, until fragrant. Add in the onions, garlic and carrot and fry for 3 minutes.

5. Drain the beans and add to the pan, drizzle with some olive oil and season with salt and pepper and fry the beans for 6 to 8 minutes, until they start to get crispy. Remove from the heat and cool.
6. For the crispy tortilla strips, brush each side of the tortillas with sunflower oil and stack them on top of each other. Cut them in half, then slice each half into 6mm strips. Spread them out in a single layer on a large baking tray, sprinkle over with a bit of salt and bake for 10 to 15 minutes, or until crispy. Remove and sprinkle with a touch of paprika.

7. To make the avocado salsa, finely the dice the avocado and tomato. Place in a small mixing bowl, add in the yoghurt, lime juice, olive oil and season with salt and chilli (optional). 

8. Halve the cherry tomatoes and finely dice the capsicums. To put the salad together, combine the beans with the cherry tomatoes, capsicum and brown rice in a large serving bowl. Drizzle over with some olive oil, top with the crispy tortilla strips and serve with the avocado salsa, paprika potatoes and lime wedges on the side.