The Tastiest Black Bean Tostadas

Sometimes a recipe is spoiled by the quality of ingredients and I have a feeling that this one was let down by mine.  The recipe today is from Thomasina Miers' Great Mexican Food Made Easy.  She's got some amazing fillings for tacos and wraps and I love that you can play around with how you present said fillings.

Like this one.  If I was being true to the recipe I'd've made my own little tostadas from scratch.  Instead, I made a tortilla bowl by baking a flour tortilla over the top of an upturned cup and filled it with the black beans and other goodies.

As Miers says in the book, the black beans are tasty however I reserve judgement as to whether or not they are the tastiest ever as I have nothing to compare this statement too.  But I think they were spoiled by the accompaniments that Miers suggested.  This, however, is down to circumstance and choices rather than the recipe itself.

Like when I made the Clementine Mojito Loaf at the weekend.  It was nice, but I think the flavour of the clementines I had detracted a little from the loaf's flavour potential.  Sometimes you just can't skimp.

The beans are in there somewhere...under the giant avocado...

In the case of this recipe though, I had a ginormous and rather expensive avocado from Ocado.  I didn't want a ginormous avocado.  I just wanted a lovely, small, perfectly ripe Hass avocado.  But they were out of stock.  So in their wisdom they decided I required an avocado that would feed a small nation.  It's called the 'Ocado Very Big Avocado'.  They should rename it to the 'Ocado Very Tasteless Avocado'.  Seriously it took bland to a whole new level.

Maybe mashed up in guacamole with loads of spices or something, it would be a great base to a dish.  But  as part of a salad it was bland, bland, bland.  Add to this the very sheepy-tasting Feta that I had from Sainsburys - I'm very fussy when it comes to Feta and it frustrates me that the same brand can vary in flavour from week to week - and in all, the overall dish was disappointing to the point that I didn't even finish it.

The beans were great and I can highly recommend them.  I forgot the salsa (senior moment so it'll be used in sandwiches for tomorrow) so that may have helped out.  Overall this recipe is, like all of the Miers recipes I've tried so far, potentially packed with amazing tastes on so many levels.  Just so long as you can be sure of the quality of your ingredients.

Now I just have to figure out what to do with three-quarters of the behemoth avocado that is still loitering in my fridge.  Am wondering how unfussy my spaniel really is...

A quick Google for the recipe reveals it to have been published in the good old Daily Fail.  Guess that saves me typing it out :)