Kimchi Tacos

I don't have photos of the cooking process here, because I honestly didn't think it would turn out well enough to want to share with anyone. Swiss chard, Great Northern beans, my untested homemade kimchi, and some month-old corn tortillas. This was one of those dinners where I was very glad I wasn't feeding anyone else, because it seemed like such a potential disaster. But it was Monday night, and the week's delivery had just arrived, and I needed to use up last week's chard to make room in the fridge. I'd cooked up a pot of white beans the day before, and I had (have) this massive tub of kimchi, and a bag of corn tortillas that were leftover from C.'s birthday dinner (fish tacos & salmorejo). And a quarter of an avocado. "How bad could it be?" I thought to myself. "I mean, it could be terrible, but I'll be the only one who knows. And I can always just have a salad if it's totally inedible."

So I diced up the chard stems, and sauteed them in olive oil with a little garlic, and then added the chopped leaves until both were pretty tender. Then a few big spoonfuls of the beans, just to heat them through.

Then it was just a matter of heating up a few tortillas and assembling. I learned the second time around that it makes more sense to start with a lettuce leaf (good protection against the excess liquid from the chard, like putting peanut butter on both slices of bread & jelly in between to keep the bread from getting soggy). Then a scoop of the chard & bean mixture, a slice of avocado (absent in the photo below because I had finished it the night before), and some chopped kimchi. 

I'm more surprised than anyone that this was actually delicious. Though I'm still learning the proper way to heat up corn tortillas so they are soft and pliable and not dry and cracking. (For the record, that problem was evident even when the tortillas were freshly purchased, so I don't blame a month in the fridge.) Maybe if you crisp them up and do a hardshell taco? 

Swiss Chard & Kimchi Tacos

makes 10-12 tacos

10-12 small corn tortillas

1 bunch Swiss chard

1-2 cloves garlic

olive oil

1 cup cooked white beans

10-12 small lettuce leaves (or 5-6 large lettuce leaves, cut in half)

1 small avocado

Kimchi to taste

Cut the stems away from the leaves of the chard. Dice the stems and cut the leaves into thick ribbons. 

Peel and thinly slice the garlic. Heat a couple tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet over medium-low heat. Add the garlic, and when it is fragrant, add the chard stems. Saute for a few minutes, until they start to get tender, then add the sliced leaves. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the leaves are tender. Add the beans, keep cooking until they are heated through, then remove from the heat.

Heat up the tortillas in the manner to which you are accustomed (I hear microwaves are useful for this). Place a lettuce leaf in the center of each tortilla. Add a spoonful of the chard & bean mixture. Top with a slice of avocado and as much chopped kimchi as you like.