Food Matters Project: Collard Greens-Kidney Beans Soft Taco

Looking for a quick dinner to throw together at the end of a busy holiday weekend - Happy Memorial Day! - I realized that I had all of the ingredients I needed for the Food Matters Project assignment this week. So, tonight, after picking up the boys from their friend's house, I came home and whipped up my version of Bittman's Beans 'N Greens Burrito.

The recipe was selected by Jacqui of Good Things Grow. Click here for what our week's hostess created in her kitchen. And to see what the other bloggers cooked and blogged, click here and look in the comments section.

This was so simple, I almost loathe to call it a recipe. But maybe that's the beauty of it...

I had a bunch of collard greens and zucchini in my High Ground Organics CSA box; I always have garlic; and I had a cans of organic red kidney beans and black beans in the cupboard. Done deal!

In a large, flat-bottomed pan I browned minced garlic in a splash of olive oil. Then I added thinly sliced collard greens and cooked them until they began to wilt. I added sliced zucchini and the drained beans. When the zucchini had softened, I seasoned everything with freshly ground pink Himalaya salt, ground cumin, ground paprika, and freshly ground flower pepper. Then I turned off the heat and folded in a handful of chopped Italian parsley.

Also, I count myself lucky to have a handy tortilla maker in my house. His name is Riley! We made tortillas during a field trip to one of the historic adobes in the Fall and he asked for a tortilla press. So, he makes fresh corn tortillas every now and then. They were perfect.

 

2 cups masa harina

1 1/2 to 2 cups water
1 T olive oil

Start by putting 2 cups of masa flour in a large mixing bowl. Add 1 1/2 to 2 cups of very warm water and a splash of oil to the masa flour (according to the directions on the package, some brands may call for different amounts of water). Mix in and let sit for 5 minutes or so. Begin working the masa with your hands to make the dough. Knead the dough for several minutes. If at any point through the tortilla making process the dough seems too dry or too wet, add a little more water or masa to the dough.

Take a piece of the masa dough and shape it into a ball the size of a plum, or slightly large golf ball.

Take two pieces of wax paper or parchment paper and lay one on the bottom of the tortilla press. Place the masa ball in the center. Place another piece of wax paper over the masa ball. Gently close the press and press down, until the dough has spread to a diameter of 4-6 inches.

Heat a griddle or a large skillet on high heat. Working one at a time, hold a tortilla in your hand, carefully removing the wax paper on each side. Allow the tortilla to rest half on your hand, and half hanging down, and gently lay the tortilla down on to the skillet. Start working on pressing the next tortilla. Cook the tortilla on the hot pan for 30 seconds to a minute on each side. The tortilla should be lightly toasted and little air pockets forming.

For the Beans 'N Greens soft taco, I melted some smoked mozzarella cheese on Riley's tortillas, topped them with the collard greens mixture, and spooned some fire-roasted salsa on top. Success!

*Update 1/11/13: Added this recipe to Katherine Martinelli's Taco Linky Party.*