Flour Tortillas with Pinto Beans, Charred Sweetcorn, and Tomato Salsa

This meal was inspired by a blog feed I got this week which I just had to try, as well as by one of my favourite blogs, Homesick Texan. I have to say I am going through a bit of a Mexican phase at the moment and can't get enough of jalapeños, smoked paprika, etc.

It is the first time I have made tortillas from scratch, and I was surprised at how easy they are to make, and how much better they taste than the ones we find in the shops here! I used this recipe which produced wonderful thick,  soft tortillas. 

I served them with some pinto beans in a smoky tomato sauce, a tomato salsa, and a bowl of charred sweetcorn. I had never come across sweetcorn prepared in this way before, and it is delicious. Apparently it is a version of the Mexican street food esquites. 

Serves 2 very hungry people or 3 to 4 as a light meal.

Flour Tortillas recipe can be found here.

Smoky Pinto Beans

Ingredients

-1 tin cooked pinto beans, drained and rinsed

-1 tin chopped tomatoes

-1 medium onion, peeled and chopped

-2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped

-1 tsp cider vinegar

-1 tsp brown sugar

-1 tsp ground cumin

-1 tsp smoked paprika

-Sunflower oil for frying

Salt and pepper

1. Fry the onion in some sunflower oil with the cumin and smoked paprika until soft. Add the garlic, sugar, and vinegar and cook for one minute more. Then add the tomatoes, fill the tin with water and add it to the mix. Cook for 15 minutes.

2. Add the pinto beans and reduce for a further 15 minutes, season to taste.

Charred Sweetcorn

Ingredients

-2 corn on the cob

-1 red chilli, chopped

-Knob if unsalted butter

-1 tsp sunflower oil

-Squeeze of lemon juice

-50g grated cheese

-Salt, pepper

1. To char the sweetcorn hold it over a gas hob, turning it slowly. It will start to sizzle and pop (this bit is fun!). When they are cool enough to handle, cut the corn from the cob.

2. Heat the oil and butter in a pan and fry the corn with the chilli until cooked - about 5 minutes. Then stir in the seasoning, cheese, and lime juice and serve. 

Tomato Salsa


Ingredients


-2 large ripe tomatoes, diced
-2 salad onions, thinly sliced
-1 tbsp chopped fresh coriander
-Squeeze of lime juice
-Salt, pepper


1. Mix all of the ingredients together and serve with the tortillas.