Smoky Black Bean Tacos with Pickled Onion and Chipotle Crema

Smoky Black Bean Tacos with Pickled Onion and Chipotle Crema

The beans get a smoky char in a ripping hot pan. Everything else is assembly.

Ingredients

Pickled Onion

• 1 red onion, thinly sliced
• 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt

Chipotle Crema

• 1/2 cup sour cream or Mexican crema
• 1 chipotle in adobo, minced
• 1 tsp adobo sauce
• Pinch of salt

Beans

• 2 cans black beans, drained
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp oregano
• 2 tbsp neutral oil
• Salt to taste

To Serve

• Corn tortillas, charred
• Cilantro
• Lime wedges
• Crumbled cotija (optional)

Instructions

• **Pickle the onion**: combine vinegar, sugar, salt, and 1/4 cup water. Add onion. Set aside for at least 10 minutes.

• **Make crema**: stir chipotle, adobo sauce, and salt into sour cream.

• **Char the beans**: heat oil in a cast-iron until smoking. Add beans in a single layer. Let them sear undisturbed for 2–3 minutes. Stir, add spices, and mash slightly.

• **Assemble**: tortilla, beans, pickled onion, crema, cilantro, cotija, lime.

Chef's Notes

• Let the beans sit in the hot pan. The crust is flavor.
• Pickled onion keeps for a week. Make extra.