Black Bean Tostada Skillet
Fajita-spiced beans and corn over toasted tortillas, built in one pan at camp.
- calories
- 470
- weight
- 5.5 oz
- cal / oz
- 85
- protein
- 19 g
- serves
- 4, scales
- prep
- 5 min
- cook
- 12 min
- total time
- 17 min
- water
- 400 ml boiled
- cost
- $
Calorie and protein figures are my own estimates, good enough for planning a food bag and not meant as precise nutrition data.
- Dinner
- Lunch
- Canister stove
- Liquid fuel
- Campfire coals
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Canoe / raft
- Bikepacking
- Vegetarian
- One pot
- Pre-mix at home
- Shelf stable
- Basic
Ingredients
| Whole wheat tortillas | 4 medium | pack flat against the back panel |
|---|---|---|
| Dehydrated black beans | 1 1/2 cups cooked equivalent | instant refried flakes also work |
| Freeze-dried corn | 1/2 cup | |
| Dried zucchini slices | 1 small zucchini's worth | dehydrated at home, sliced thin |
| Fajita seasoning | 1 tbsp | |
| Olive oil | 1 tbsp | dropper bottle |
| Shredded hard cheese | 1 cup | aged cheddar or dry jack, grated at home |
| Dried cilantro | 1 tsp | |
| Lime | 1 | optional, travels fine for a couple of days |
Method
- Pour 400 ml of water into the pot with the beans, corn, zucchini, and fajita seasoning. Bring it to a boil, then pull it off the flame and cover it for eight minutes so the vegetables rehydrate.
- While that sits, dry-toast the tortillas one at a time in a second pan or directly on the grate. Thirty seconds a side, until they stiffen and spot brown.
- Stir the bean mix. If it is soupy, put it back on low heat and cook it down until it mounds on a spoon.
- Add the oil and half the cheese to the pot. Stir until the cheese melts in.
- Spoon onto the toasted tortillas, scatter the rest of the cheese and the cilantro over the top, and squeeze the lime if you brought one. Eat them fast, standing up.
The original bakes tortillas in an oven and uses fresh zucchini, neither of which travels. Toasting on a dry pan does the same job in a minute: the tortilla loses enough moisture to hold weight without going to cracker. Dehydrated beans, corn, and zucchini rehydrate in the same pot with the seasoning, which means the spice ends up inside the vegetables instead of sitting on top.
Watch the water. Too much and the topping slides off the tortilla and into your lap. Cook it down until it holds a shape on the spoon. Hard cheese grated at home is the swap for the refrigerated shredded blend, and it melts better anyway.
Packing
Beans, corn, zucchini, and seasoning premix into one bag at home. Cheese and tortillas ride separately. Tortillas crack if they get folded, so keep them flat.
Variations
- Skip the toasting and roll everything into soft burritos if the wind will not let you keep a pan hot.
- Add a foil packet of chicken to the pot at the rehydrate step.
- Instant refried bean flakes cut the soak to two minutes and thicken on their own.
https://ohmyveggies.com/recipe-black-bean-veggie-baked-tostadas