Zucchini & Black Bean Tostadas {with Homemade "Cheats" Salsa}

End of Summer. It can be hot. Need I say more?

Let's say someone feels I do need to. To elaborate, in Brno it's been icky-sticky hot all week. I'm starting to get a bit saladed-out, and looking for something a bit more toothsome.

This is where tostadas come in. You can throw on all kinds of veg you got rolling around in the fridge...even the ones that may be past their salad prime. Whip up a fresh batch of salsa, turn on the oven broiler for a wee five minutes (and maybe the stovetop for a few too if you're doing zucchini) and bam - there you go. A satisfying dinner that fills a gal up but doesn't weigh her down. Corn tortillas always leave me feeling a bit springier than wheat ones...and since they are tostadas, you're not wrapping everything in a big massive wheat blanket like a burrito. Moc zdravý.

The only caveat found here is that I was stuck-in-bed sick for a few days this week, so I used only what I had in the kitchen - which inclued only one tomato. The salsa compensates by using a can of peeled diced tomatoes, which, when properly doctored up, makes a very nice salsa-like consistency without the boiling/peeling/puréeing tomatoes business.

I know it's so wrong on so many levels, what with it being tomato season, but it was just so easy! I promise, I'm going to the market right now to support my local tomato-growers!

When I made these, I threw the salsa on before heating up the tostadas on only half of them. The other half I added the salsa just before eating...I preferred this latter approach, as the salsa seemed more flavourful when cold (the cilantro flavour dies down a bit when heated) and the tortilla bottoms stayed a bit crispier.

Continue to Recipe...

Recipe: Zucchini & Black Bean Tostadas

Serves 3-4 (on 12 tortillas)

Time 45 min's

2 medium zucchini, coarsely chopped

1 onion, diced

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp chili powder

1 can diced tomatoes

1 tomato, chopped

3 Tb chopped cilantro

2 green onions, chopped

1/2 tsp sugar

1 tsp cumin

2 Tb chopped jalapeno from a jar (or 1 Tb fresh)

1 garlic clove

1 large can black beans

1/4 cup chopped black olives

12 corn tortillas

optional toppings: sour cream/guacamole/cheese/cilantro/lime

1) Get the zucchini cooking. On the stove, heat up your cooking oil of choice (I like grapeseed here) with the minced garlic until fragrant - just a minute. Toss in the onion, zucchini, salt, and chilli powder. Cook until quite soft - 15 minutes.

2) In the meantime, make the salsa. In a medium bowl, dump in the can of diced tomatoes. Add the real tomato, cilantro, green onion, sugar, cumin, jalapeno, and garlic. Mix well and tweak to your liking.

3) Strain and rinse the beans, chop up more cilantro, and the black olives too.

4) Pre-heat the broiler or oven. Lay out all the fixings, and pile them on each tortilla. Stick in the oven till all is warm - about 5 minutes, no more.

Dobrou Chut'/ Enjoy.
-- Jo