Photos by Emily Caruso
If you were to pick up a torta on the streets of Mexico City, you’d probably get your roll stuffed with grilled meat and cheese. Ours is stuffed with roasted poblano peppers and panko crusted avocado. The poblano adds a savory element and some roasty toasty Mexican flavor. Add an extra flavorful spread out of black beans and Mexican spices and you’re set for a delicious veggie meal.
PrintCrispy Baked Avocado Tortas
Crispy panko coated avocado slices, roasted poblano peppers, and spicy black bean spread are all stuffed into crusty sandwich rolls in these hearty vegan Mexican tortas.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 4 tortas
Ingredients
For the Crispy Baked Avocados:
- 1/2 cup unflavored soy or almond milk
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 2 tablespoons ground flaxseed
- 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- 1 cup panko breadcrumbs
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional, or to taste)
- 2 ripe avocados, sliced into 1/2 inch thick strips
For the Roasted Poblano Peppers:
- 2 poblano peppers, seeded and quartered
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
For the Black Bean Spread:
- 1 (14-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained (or 1 3/4 cups cooked)
- 2 cloves garlic
- 2 tablespoons lime juice
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
- Salt and pepper to taste
For Serving:
- 4 bolillo or telera rolls, or 1 French baguette cut into 4 sections, sliced open
- 4 large green leaf lettuce leaves
Instructions
To Make the Crispy Baked Avocados:
- Whisk the soy or almond milk, cornstarch and ground flaxseed together in a small bowl. Let the mixture sit for at least 10 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 425°F. Coat a baking sheet with 1 tablespoon of olive oil.
- Stir the panko breadcrumbs, salt, pepper and cayenne together in a small bowl.
- Dip an avocado strip into the flax mixture, gently turning to coat all sides. Transfer the avocado strip to the panko mixture. Gently turn the avocado to adhere the panko mixture to each side. Place the avocado strip onto the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining avocado strips. Gently brush or spray the tops of the strips with the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil.
- Bake the avocado for about 20 minutes, until lightly browned and crisp, gently turning after 10 minutes.
To Roast the Poblano Peppers:
- Rub the peppers lightly with olive oil and arrange on a second baking sheet. Place them in the oven with the avocado and bake for about 16 minutes, until tender and darkened in spots, turning after 8 minutes.
To Make the Black Bean Spread:
- While the avocado slices and poblano peppers roast, place all of the spread ingredients into the bowl of a food processor fitted with an S-blade. Process until smooth, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
To Assemble the Tortas:
- Hollow out the rolls by scooping out the soft centers. Slather the black bean spread inside the top and bottom halves of each roll, then layer with the crispy baked avocados, roasted poblano peppers and lettuce leaves.
Notes
Make sure to use avocados that are ripe, but not over ripe. They should still be nice and green and have a bit of firmness.
13 Comments
Mindy
May 6, 2015 at 11:32 amHoly hell, this sound AMAZING.
Alissa
May 7, 2015 at 10:12 pmThanks Mindy! They were so good!!
Jennifer @ Delicious Everyday
May 7, 2015 at 11:34 amThose avocados look crazy gooood!
Alissa
May 7, 2015 at 10:13 pmThe avocados were awesome! I think I’ll be putting them into all kinds of dishes from now on. 🙂
Stephanie Jane
May 7, 2015 at 1:13 pmNot sure how easy the black bean spread will be without a food processor, but I love the idea of baked avocados. Maybe I will try the slices as the centre of a warm salad?
Alissa
May 7, 2015 at 10:16 pmYou could probably get away with mashing the beans really well with a fork or potato masher. You’ll end up with a chunkier spread, but it will still be tasty. You could definitely incorporate the avocado slices into a salad as well.
Meg @ Noming thru Life
May 7, 2015 at 9:28 pmI just ate and this is making me hungry all over again! I’m overly obsessed with avocados and kind of have a thing for poblanos too… so I’m pretty sure this is going to happening pretty dang soon 😉
Alissa
May 7, 2015 at 10:18 pmI’ve been so obsessed with avocados lately too. I think this is my new favorite way to eat them. 🙂
Deb @ What's Cooking at Dinner Thyme
July 23, 2015 at 11:24 amThis sandwich looks and sounds delicious! I will definitely be trying this recipe very soon!
Cloie McPhail
August 21, 2015 at 5:04 pmI just made these for dinner and I was blown away! Great textures and flavors! I will be adding this to the regular dinner menu 😀 Thank you!!
Alissa
August 24, 2015 at 2:22 pmAwesome! So glad you enjoyed them!
Candy
January 27, 2016 at 10:26 pmTried it yesterday and the avocado turned out bitter. After reading a bit on the net, baked or fried avocados turn bitter. So how did you manage to make it and for it to taste good?
Alissa
January 28, 2016 at 9:48 pmSorry to hear that! I’ve never heard of that happening, but I just Googled around a bit and it looks like baked avocado does sometimes turn bitter. I’ve baked avocado a bunch of times and never had that problem. My best guess, if you’re up for trying this again, would be to make sure you’re using an avocado that’s just ripe – nice and bright green but not at all mushy yet, and to keep a really close eye on the cook time and temperature.