Bonus

Yesterday was our big family party at my Mum’s and we all chip in to help make everything ready- and to put out a spread for everyone who comes.  This means that once again I had to come up with some sort of finger food thing to contribute, and once again I made my black bean tortilla thingies.  They’re perfect for parties and are delicious, inexpensive, good hot and at room temperature and you can make a bunch fast, which makes them fit the bill exactly, if you ask me.  I know there can be a lot of pressure this time of year to come up with just this sort of thing, and everybody always asks me for the recipe, so here you go.

Black Bean Tortilla Things

(I try to be super creative with the names)

1 pkg large flour tortillas
375 ml / 1.5 cups grated cheddar 
1 small red pepper
1 small orange pepper   
1 avocado
1 bunch of spring/green onions
3 plum tomatoes
1 can black beans – rinsed and drained
250 ml/1 cup frozen corn, thawed
2.5ml / 1/2 tsp cumin
2.5 ml / 1/2 tsp chili powder
salt and pepper to taste

Turn the oven on to gas mark 4/ 180 C/ 350 F.  Chop up all the veggies pretty small (small like the corn and black beans) and mix everything (except for the tortillas) together.

Get a pint glass and use it upside down like a cookie cutter to cut the tortillas into as many rounds as you can squeeze out of them.

Tuck the tortilla rounds down into muffin cups.

Fill each cup with a spoonful or two of the black bean stuff –

Then bake for about 12-15 minutes.  You want the tortilla cups to start to  brown and be quite crisp, and for the cheese to be melted.

Take them out of the pans right away and either serve right then while they’re warm, or let them cool to room temperature on a rack (so they stay crisp) and serve later. 

Makes several dozen.  I’ve experimented over the years, and I can tell you this. I like them with cilantro in them, but some people don’t – I also like them with extra spring onion and a handful of chopped fresh parsley, and remember to cut things up pretty small.  You can put just about anything in them, just don’t make the mix of stuff too wet.  I used a whack of salsa one year and things were a little gloopy and the tortilla tart part was damp instead of crispy.  You don’t want that.  Damp tarts are not good – and yes. There’s a terrible, terrible joke right there,  I’m letting it go by. If you’re feeding a slightly more refined (or less diverse) crowd, you can get fancy and mince a hot pepper into them, and I’ve made a really good batch by subbing  some blue cheese and broccoli and taking out the avocado and cheddar.  It’s hard to go wrong really, and they’ll disappear off the table. 
Good luck. 

87 thoughts on “Bonus

  1. I think I have most of these ingredients on hand! Thanks for sharing in time for me to run out and get the rest, and enjoy as we ring in the new year. They sound delicious. Happy New Year, Steph, to you and yours.

  2. Oh, THANK YOU! You just rescued my “teenage sons give New Year Party and expect Mom to cater” situation. At our place tomorrow night there will be a whole bunch of teens and tweens scarfing down dozens of these delightful “things”.

  3. they look lovely, and your timing is sublime! I am in charge of small, edible thingies for New Year’s Eve, and have made 4 “loaves” of spanikopita, and 4 “loaves of cheese-ikpita. These will round those off nicely. DH and DS are off buying fireworks now. It will be lovely up at the cottage!
    Happy New Year Harlot!

  4. Sofrito would give additional flavor without all the moisture that would come with salsa. Given the amounts of things in the recipe, I’d guess that you could plop in a tablespoon without upsetting the moisture balance. My kiddos will eat a warm mixture of rice, black beans and a blop of sofrito until the cows come home. It’s a favorite in their containers for lunch. The brand of sofrito I buy is Goya, but there are likely others. It’s also perfect in soups, stews, etc. Try it!

  5. Yum! I’ll make those next week for the Seahawks game. Our nephew is the kicker for the team, and so willy nilly we have turned into football fans. It is good to have a tasty snack which is also good for you. Happy New year!

  6. Thanks Stephanie! The gals are getting together for an appetizer and dessert evening and these are perfect! I like cilantro so will add it to my batch.

  7. These sound so good and so adaptable for what you have on hand. Adding to the list for New Years Eve.

  8. These look great! Also, can get most of the ingredients overseas so that is a huge bonus. Thanks!

  9. And I bet they’d be great even smaller, in mini muffin cups, more bite size for those of us who would spill the whole thing down our front… Thanks for the recipe and the idea!

  10. Just copied and emailed entire blog to DD (non knitter but lover of nice food) and she not only thinks the recipe looks numnums but loves your writing – so I’m going to let her try one of your books, then I’m going to sneak a little yarn and some sleek needles her way – we shall get her addicted you and I … mwahahaha

  11. Oh my god, I have to make these for the party i’m going to tomorrow night!!! Sweet!!! Thanks 😀

  12. I love stuff like this. You and I both know that everyone who reads this will copy it, and serve it up at every opportunity. Thanks so much for sharing.

  13. That looks delicious & if I ever get rid of this cold that’s migrated from you all the way to Florida, I’ll definitely make them.

  14. Of course, I’m going to copy this recipe. It looks lovely with all the colors of harvest. I made your emergency soup for Christmas lunch, and it went over very well, even for the carnivores. thanks for teaching me to knit better and cook something edible.

  15. These look amazing! Totally going to “borrow” this for tomorrow night. Happy New Year and thanks for another great year of reading and inspiration 🙂

  16. I too loved your “Emergency Soup” and can’t wait to make this tomorrow after work. It’s perfect. When is the Yarn Harlot Cook Book of Quick Eats for More time to knit coming out? 🙂

  17. This is definitely good party food. Of course, I go crazy when I’m cooking for a party. This year is butternut squash pastry thing (boxed puffed pastry to make it easy), birthday cake and fancy fun pound cake.

  18. When you take a bite out of one, do the contents of the remaining part dribble out? They sound so yummy, but I can picture stains down my front or lap.

  19. I’ll bet these would work with those Tostito dipper things…whatever they are called, that’s what I thought they were when I first looked at the picture. They look good!

  20. These look delicious! I’ll be sure to try them out. I make your Emergency Soup on a regular basis and love it. Would you consider sharing your gingerbread cookie recipe? Please? 🙂

  21. These look yummy! I will try them, however, with CORN tortillas and see how they turn out. If any good, I have the perfect gluten free appetizer to take.

  22. That’s a great recipe! Any chance you can post your walnut recipe you tweeted about? It sounded delish!

  23. What a great idea…
    I have a daughter allergic to corn and a husband that is gluten intolerant…I can do corn for the DH and flour (with no corn) for daughter! Then my oldest daughter is vegetarian and son is a serious cyclist that consumes 1000’s of calories in one sitting…I can add chicken or beef to his…wow! I can feed the entire crowd!
    Thank you!!!

  24. This is a great recipe, easy and no-fuzz and still so versatile. I love the idea of the little tortillas! 🙂 Thank you for sharing, and I wish you and your family a wonderful evening and a happy new year!
    Love,
    Sanja

  25. Cool beans!!! (Yes that is a groaner I know. I just couldn’t resist!) This is just the kind of recipe that I like. I usually have all the ingredients hanging around and it sounds like a great quick and tasty recipe. Thanks for taking the time to share it with us.

  26. New Year’s Resolution No. 1: Make these. They are as pretty as your knitting.
    Wishing you and yours (and all The Blog) a happy, peaceful, fun 2013!!

  27. Perfect. I was going to take Devilled Eggs to the Levee tomorrow, but this will definitely be more seasonal.
    Okay, gotta get out of bed and get to the stores before it’s Too Late.

  28. OMG this is perfect timing for me!!! We’re having 23 (or more) people to our house on Saturday for my 50th (it’s actually on the 7th but whatever). I’m SO going to make these! They’ll be a big hit here in the Kootenays. I heard a rumour that your hubby has family out here?
    Thanks again!!!

  29. These look wonderful and very tasty! The name is perfect and memorable, very important with recipes. I’ll be making these Things this weekend for another Christmas gathering. Happy New Year to Yarn Harlot!

  30. great idea, thanks for sharing! did you know the ability to taste cilantro is a genetic trait? my heart goes out to those poor, unfortunate souls who taste it as soap instead

  31. sounds yumm!
    My mom makes something similar. she makes that whole veggie/bean mixture and adds some Italian salad dressing or vinaigrette. then she spreads cooked quinoa in the bottom of a casserole dish and spreads the veggies over the top.
    Best if you let it sit for a while and the dressing soaks down into the quinoa.
    Good as a salad or scooped up with tortilla chips

  32. Yum – brilliant! Thanks so much for this recipe. An appetizer actually worth making from scratch!

  33. MmMmMmMmMm…timing IS everything (for tonite!!!)
    “Thankyou” soooooo much Stephanie for EVERYthing over this past year!! All the ideas…the helpful tips…the recipes…the laughs!!!! Wishing you & those you hold dear the VERY best in ‘2013’!!…(:

  34. MmMmMmMmMm…timing IS everything (for tonite)!! “Thankyou” soooo much Stephanie for EVERYthing over this past year…the ideas…the helpful tips…the recipes…the photos …the laughs!!!! Wishing you & those you hold dear the VERY best in ‘2013’…(:

  35. These look like the perfect “thing” for a gathering – holiday or otherwise. Thanks for sharing your recipe! I can’t wait to try them!

  36. Dear Yarn Harlot:
    the fact that you write Gas Mark 4 first warms this pastry chef’s heart. It’s the muffin equivalent to you writing “colour”. God Bless Canada!

  37. Why did I not read this yesterday?? I had to make something for a party this evening and these would have been a real hit. They will have to settle for Smith College fudge, which I only say because I know there will be plenty of chocolate plus the usual party fare. Your recipe is perfection.
    The best to you, Stephanie, and to all your family, in 2013!

  38. I know it’s rude to post twice, so I apologize. But I just realized that I can take these to my knitter’s group holiday party next week. Hooray!

  39. Happy New Year to you, Joe, the girls, and all your family and friends (that’s most of the world, come to think)!
    Recipe reads yummy! I’m going to try them soonest.

  40. Thank you so much Stephanie. Just made them for a New Year’s Eve gathering and they taste great! Wishing you and yours a happy, healthy, and peaceful new year.

  41. something that might work in this kind of thing is Brie (or a similar style cheese, I like Cendrillon) and mango. Works amazingly in a quesadilla, seems logical it ought to work here.

  42. I make something similar with wonton wrappers, but I’m definitely trying my recipe with the taco wrappers – they will be perfect. Thanks for sharing. Happy New Year everyone!

  43. Right. Done. Cooling on the racks. Ready to take to the wilds of North York this afternoon.
    I love them!

  44. Super timing!! I needed something savory to take to a New Year’s Eve Game Night and your recipe saved me a lot of time looking! They turned out great and were a great hit. It was something delicious to savor over the remaining hours of 2012. Thank you for sharing.

  45. I am going to make these asap! Yum! Thank you! But… just how big around is a pint glass? I usually drink it right out of the bottle. 🙂

  46. Made these for dinner at my brother’s yesterday. Had to leave the recipe with him. Really good and very easy

  47. You’ve just solved my “vegetarian hors d’oeuvre” problem for next year! Thank you! This year I tried falafel – they were too dry, last year it was spanakopita, which were difficult & fussy. Black bean things are perfect, and I bet I can find a gluten-free corn tortilla recipe for them as well…

  48. Oh, yum. Thanks Stephanie! Am making them right now:: with a little leek instead of spring onion and i think i’m going to grate some sweet potato and yellow zuke in the tartlet filling too.

  49. Slow on the uptake, I am, but I just thought of a possibly more descriptive name for these (not that “things” isn’t something I use all the time because it is: an event’s nickname was “the Burke thing” in all but marketing materials). Wait for it…..”Harlot’s Black Bean Tortilla Cupcakes” but imagine that “cake” is struck out (comments doesn’t allow that for some reason).

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