Lime-Spiked Black Bean and Quinoa Kale Wrap

‘Tis the season for kale.

I went to the St Lawrence Market this weekend to buy some kale. I was pining the HUGE $2 bundles of kale. Last year, with only one bundle I made Brazilian Potato-Kale Soup with Sizzling Chorizo (Caldo Verde), Vanilla Sweet Potato and Kale Curry, African Pineapple Kale Peanut Stew AND  Cranberry Bean Mole with Roasted Butternut Squash. The bundles were that huge. This week, they had smaller bundles, all from the top part of the plants. Still a great deal at $1.50 and actually more manageable to eat in a week. I bought 2 bundles because I planned for a kale chip marathon this weekend. While I also scored a delicata and kabocha squash (I have yet to try them but I hear they are wonderful), I wasn’t able to find celery root (aka celeriac) which was my main reason for visiting the market. I guess, I will have to head back next week.

While I feel like the winter heralds the end of fresh vegetables (my local farmer’s market has already closed for the season), without physical snow, there is still lots of food from local sources. In fact, I still have kale growing in my own garden! It became much more prolific since the first frost. The winner of the kale plants we planted this year was the Vates Blue Curled Kale. It is a dwarf plant, so the plants are smaller and don’t take as long to grow (dinosaur kale takes 90 days to grow, whereas these need only 30 days). The leaves are smaller and more tender, thus they are perfect for wraps. No need to steam, because they taste wicked awesome fresh from the garden.

This is a delicious wrap that I adapted from The Two-Week Wellness Solution. Tess initially made these as tostadas, but I really enjoyed these as wraps.  I pretty much adore all of Tess’ recipes and had bookmarked these for the longest time due to their positively glowing reviews. Then Ashley posted her version, and I knew I had to try it.

It looks so daunting with all the ingredients, but it is actually really easy to make. The mashed black beans seasoned with lime, cumin and onion are the star of the wrap, contrasting nicely with quinoa as well as lime-spiked carrots and green onions. The avocado adds a creamy touch. Try it as a tostada, or a wrap, but any way will be delicious. This has been one of my favourite meals. Enjoy!

This is my submission to this month’s Bookmarked Recipes, this month’s Simple and in Season and this week’s Weekend Wellness.

Lime-Spiked Black Bean and Quinoa Kale Wrap

1/3 cup dry quinoa, rinsed and drained
2/3 cup water
1/4 tsp sea salt

15 oz can black beans (1 3/4 cups cooked beans), drained and rinsed
1 1/2 tbsp fresh lime juice
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp sea salt
3 large cloves garlic, minced

1 cup grated carrots (and/or sliced cabbage)
3 green onions, finely chopped
1 tbsp fresh lime juice
1 1/2 avocados, peeled and chopped

4-8 large kale leaves, stem removed

1. Bring water to a boil over high heat. Once boiling, add quinoa. Reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer until all of the water is absorbed, about 15-20 minutes. Keep covered for an additional 5 minutes to steam. Once done, stir in the 1/4 tsp sea salt and set aside.

2. Combine black beans, lime juice, cumin, onion powder, salt and garlic in a blender or food processor. Blend well until very smooth. Transfer to a small pan and heat over low until warm, stirring occasionally.

3. In a small bowl, toss the carrots and green onions with lime juice. Set aside.

5. To assemble the wrap, place a kale leaf on a flat surface and spread with some of the black bean mixture. Next, add quinoa and then the veggies. Garnish with avocado chunks. Roll and eat!

If you’re not going to eat everything right away, store the ingredients in separate containers.

Serves 2-4.