Hi there, how are things? I hope life is feeling easy and good, that you’re having some fun times and eating some delicious bites along the way. I had a really good snacking session with those chickpea flour falafel chips a few weeks back (I hope that maybe you did too). We also made a really great dinner with them alongside some black beans and veggies. Black Bean bowls are kind of like tacos but with all the ingredients in a bowl, and I wanted to share them with you because they’re a quick and nutritious mid-week dinner that everyone in our family likes (and hopefully everyone in yours will too)!

Something I’ve learnt about kids is that they just like food better when it’s separate. The trouble is though that separate food doesn’t always feel like a meal, sometimes it just feels like a plate of ingredients! But one meal that works for all of us, and is so easily customised, is what we call ‘mexican’.

It started out as tacos. Back in the day I would buy those hard shell tacos, heat them up in the oven and serve them with beans and the other kid friendly taco staples like grated carrot and cheese and shredded lettuce. If there was a ripe avocado then I would make some guacamole and keep a little slice of avocado aside for my daughter because she always preferred everything separate.

Over time I just couldn’t do the taco shell thing any more. I was essentially giving my kids chips for dinner. And I have no judgement here if you use tacos shells, it’s okay. But I just felt like maybe we could keep all the other good stuff that was on the plate and lose the one thing that I felt a bit bad about.

So we went from calling this meal tacos, to just calling it mexican. Occasionally I serve it with soft tortillas or with rice alongside. Often I don’t bother at all, and just serve beans and salad-y things. It makes a totally great meal, which is really fast to make and which the kids eat with minimum fuss. Perfect for when you need to eat well, but don’t really have the time (or energy) to think. Or if you need to feed a crowd pretty quickly, with whatever is on hand.

Of course, if you feel like it, you can make it more fancy with your very own homemade falafel chips, but either way you’re going to get a great dinner on the table that (hopefully) everyone will like.

Black Bean Bowls

with Chickpea Tortilla Chips

Serves 4

For the black beans:

1 large onion, cut into dice
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 x 400g cans black beans, drained
300g tomato paste
300ml – 500ml water
2 tablespoons sweet paprika
2 tablespoons ground cumin
3 – 4 tablespoons olive oil for frying
salt and pepper to taste
smoked paprika and cayenne, on the table for customizing

Heat the olive oil in a heavy based frying pan on medium heat. Add the onions and fry gently until starting to caramelise.

Add the drained black beans, paprika, cumin and tomato paste and allow to fry for 2-3 minutes without stirring. The stir it all together, adding more olive oil if necessary, and allow to fry for another 3 – 4 minutes, making sure it doesn’t burn.

Pour in the water and stir, and turn the heat down to medium/low. Allow to simmer, stirring occasionally, for 15 – 20 minutes until thickened and sweet. Add more water throughout the cooking process if the mixture dries out too much and starts to stick.

Season with salt and pepper, and serve alongside a heaping of shredded lettuce, some grated carrot and cheese, fresh herbs, guacamole, a squeeze of lime, hummus and tortilla chips. I like to sprinkle my beans with some smoked paprika and cayenne.

Serve alongside your favourite accompaniments and or chickpea falafel tortilla chips, grated carrot, grated cheese, shredded lettuce, guacamole and hummus.