Tempeh black bean taco filling

Hands up anyone who buys tempeh because they want the supermarket to know that we want it available  but then then doesn't know what to do with it.  That would be me!  I do have a standby tempeh and corn soup recipe that is often a default.  But I was really happy to find another easy tempeh recipe that is perfect for Taco Tuesdays.

Yet again, I found the inspiration in my spreadsheet of recipe ideas.  I wanted a change for fillings for my Taco Tuesdays.  I was pretty happy that I had picked up black beans in the supermarket and had a packet of tempeh in the fridge, plus some leftover taco seasoning from a taco packet.  With a bit of onion and garlic I was ready to go.  I wanted quick and this was indeed quick.

 

I found the instructions to add some water to the tempeh perplexing.  I always find that tempeh is quite wet and I squeeze water out rather than adding it.  I cooked the tempeh and black beans in my cast iron skillet which meant I could leave the tempeh a few minutes before turning and let it get golden brown.  (as an aside, I have washed my skillet in soapy water and it is looking dull and needs seasoning.  It seems a bit of an ask but I do love the skillet and hope I will soon understand it better!)

We are into Junior MasterChef this year, which is screening on Tuesdays.  It is pleasing to watch it knowing we have had a decent meal, albeit not as impressive as the cooking of these kids.  I have frozen the tempeh black bean filling and had some of it tonight so I can confirm that it can be frozen.  And tastes great fresh off the skillet or reheated.  After hearing recently that traditional Mexican food is not full of dairy food, I left grated cheese off and was happy to find that the tempeh gave a soft pasty texture that replaced the cheese well.  (I still included yoghurt but might have left that off if I had thought to buy avocados.)  I really loved this taco filling and can see it being added on regular rotation to our Taco Tuesdays.

And as an aside, it is a good day for Melbourne.  Our second day of no corona virus diagnoses and no corona virus deaths (also known as a double doughnut day).  Our Premier has eased the lock down restrictions so shops will open tomorrow, we can have two visitors in the house and in a couple of weeks we can get through the "ring of steel" to visit regional Victoria.  Exciting days but a lot of adjustments and warnings to be careful as we go!

More tempeh dishes on Green Gourmet Giraffe:
Orange glazed tempeh (gf, v) 
Pumpkin and kale soup with tempeh crumbles (gf, v)
Sage tempeh sausages wraps (v)  
Tempeh and corn soup (gf, v)
Tempeh and pumpkin lasagne (v)
Watercourse Foods tempeh burger (gf,v)
 

Tempeh black bean taco filling
Adapted  from the Garden Grazer
Serves about 4

300g tempeh
2 tbsp taco seasoning*
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1/2 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
400g can black beans, rinsed and drained

Serving suggestion: Corn taco shells, red capsicum, purple cabbage, salsa, yoghurt, fresh herbs

Squeeze as much water out of tempeh as possible.  Crumble tempeh into a small mixing bowl and pour in taco seasoning.  Heat oil in a skillet and fry onion and tempeh for 8-10 minutes.  Stir in garlic for about a minute and then black beans for a few minutes to heat.  Serve in taco shells and pile with toppings as desired.

*UPDATE (Nov 2020): I made this again with home made taco seasoning (based on this taste.com.au member recipe), which makes about 2 tbsp and am recording it here for next time:

2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp ground smoked paprika
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp sugar
1/8 tsp ground chilli

On the stereo:
Sweetener: Ariana Grande