Black bean, tortilla and avocado salad with roasted tomato salsa

A Mexican-style salad, this features two of the country’s staples: corn, in the home-made tortilla chips, and black beans. Together they provide a complete protein and are paired in many Mexican dishes such as burritos, tacos and soups. For extra zing, finish with a scattering of feta cheese.

Preparation 10 minutes
Cooking Time 25 minutes

Total Time = 35 minutes

Serves: 4

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 200˚C, gas mark 6. To make the salsa, put the tomatoes, jalapeno chilli and garlic in a frying pan over a high heat. Dry-fry for 10 minutes, turning every so often, until blackened all over. Carefully transfer to a plate then, when cool enough to handle, peel the garlic and destalk the chilli. Put the garlic and chilli in a food processor and whizz until smooth. Add the tomatoes and pulse until finely chopped. Stir in the lime juice and season with salt; set aside.

2. Use 1 tbsp oil to brush both sides of the tortillas, then cut into triangles with scissors. Arrange in a single layer on a baking sheet (or 2), season with salt and bake for 8-10 minutes. Put the ancho chilli in a bowl, cover with boiling water and soak for 10 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, heat the remaining 1 tbsp oil in a large pan over a low heat. Add the onion with a pinch of salt and soften gently for about 7 minutes, until translucent. Drain the chilli and, when cool enough to handle, discard the stalk and seeds. Finely chop the flesh then add to the onion with the coriander stalks; cook for about 2 minutes, until fragrant.

Add the drained beans and cook over a medium heat for a few minutes until heated through; season. Arrange most of the salad leaves on a platter with the avocado slices and tortilla chips. Scatter over the beans, followed by the tomato salsa. Finally, scatter over the coriander leaves and remaining salad leaves, plus a little feta, if liked.

This recipe first appeared in Waitrose & Partners Food, September 2019 issue.

Recipe courtesy of Waitrose and Partners. Get your ingredients for this recipe at Waitrose in Putney Exchange Shopping Centre, Putney, London.