BLACK BEAN AND ROASTED SWEET POTATO TOSTADA

We made this recently and on these cold Minnesota days and nights it was fulfilling on many levels.

Black Bean and Roasted Sweet Potato Tostadas

(modified from the Culinate Kitchen Collection)

Serves 4

Ingredients
Organic Vegetable Oil (we used Spectrum Organic Olive Oil)
3 small to medium organic sweet potatoes or yams, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch size cubes (about 3 cups total)
Salt
1 small organic yellow onion, chopped (about 1 cup total)
3 cups cooked organic black beans (if using canned beans be sure to buy beans in BPA free cans)
1 tsp ground cumin (for our taste it took much more cumin)
8 prepared tostada shells (or fried-until-crisp corn tortillas) (try to find the ones with the least amount of ingredients)
2 cups grated Monterey Jack Cheese (we substituted Goat cheese for the flavor and added health benefits.)
1 cup fresh organic cilantro leaves, washed and dried
Prepared green or chipotle salsa or hot sauce (we used our 2010 homemade hot salsa)
1 organic lime, cut into wedges



Photo Courtesy of Culinate

 1)  Preheat the oven to 400 degrees

2)  On a large baking sheet pour enough oil to create a thin film.  Place the sweet potato cubes on the pan, cover with a big pinch of salt, toss to coat with the oil, then spread out in a single layer.  Roast the sweet potatoes in the preheated oven for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring after 10 minutes until cooked through and light brown.  Set aside the cooked potatoes and lower the over temp to 350 degrees.

3)  Meanwhile, add enough oil to coat the bottom of a medium saucepan.  Saute the onion until soft and starting to brown.  Add the black beans along with some of the cooking liquid (if using canned beans, drain and rinse them first) or water, about 1/2 cup.  Add the cumin and salt to taste.  Bring to a boil, then simmer while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.  Just before spreading the tostada shells, roughly mash the beans with a potato masher (this will keep them from rolling off the tortillas.)

4)  To prepare the tostadas, place tostada shells on one or two large baking sheets.  Divide the beans among the 8 tortillas and top with the grated cheese and roasted sweet potatoes.  Bake for about 10 minutes until the cheese is melted and everything is hot.

5)  Just before eating top each tostada with cilantro, salsa, or hot sauce and a squeeze of lime.

COOKS NOTES:
We do our best to use organic, fresh ingredients for health and environmental reasons.  When we have to resort to canned ingredients we make sure they are in BPA free cans (WHY AVOID BPA). We did not use tostada's or tortilla's (mostly because we forgot to get them) but substituted Kettle Black Bean chips and spread them onto the bottom of a glass baking pan and spread the bean mixture over the top and baked.  In our culinary opinion - we approve and will top with avocado's the next go round.