$2 taco tuesdays at the belasyse, perth cbd

Belasyse Bar and Restaurant, Perth CBD.

We were intending to meet up with friends for $2 Taco Tuesdays at the Belasyse, but it was only upon our arrival that we found out that our little social gathering had been cancelled. Oops. Well, we decided to hang around and try the tacos anyway.

The taco bonanza starts from 6pm on Tuesdays, apparently, and all we had to do was to purchase a drink each to make ourselves eligible for a taco-ordering-frenzy. We kept calm, though, and ordered two of each taco from a menu of five options (all gluten-free).

The options were:

Fish, cabbage salad, Baja sauce, chipotle
Chicken, guacamole, lettuce
Black beans, tomato, cheese, coriander (vegetarian)
Pulled pork, black beans, tomato, chipotle
Beef, cheese, black beans and tomato

The restaurant wasn't very busy. We were served quickly and the food came out quickly, too. As for the tacos themselves? The tortillas seemed to be a little on the dry side. The fillings were pleasant enough, but lacked some zing - perhaps more lime, chilli, or condiments could have elevated them. There is definitely potential here if they go bolder with the flavours.

The Belasyse has a pretty nice atmosphere with an easygoing courtyard area and a cozy indoors dining area. While I wasn't quite drawn in by this first visit, I'd be willing to try it again for a second time if my friends want to - and if they promise they'll show up! There are also half-price pizzas on Thursdays at the Belasyse, so that's an idea...

Tuesday tacos - fish taco at the Belasyse.

Tuesday tacos - pulled pork taco at the Belasyse.

Tuesday tacos - beef taco at the Belasyse.

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spicy spanish-mexican black bean stew

spicy spanish-mexican black bean stew

After discovering black turtle beans some months ago at a restaurant, Simon took an instant liking to them and wanted to utilize them for our home-cooked meals. Not long after, we made a trip to the local grocery store and got ourselves a bag of dried black turtle beans. For some reason, though, I never got around to using them until recently, when he asked if I could make a Mexican-style black bean stew for him.

black turtle beans, known as frijol negro in Spanish, feijão preto in Portuguese.

When I drafted out my idea for the recipe, I saw this as an opportunity to use my beloved Spanish hot smoked paprika, but I also took inspiration from the Mexican mole sauce and added some cocoa powder. The following recipe makes 2 servings - or 4 if you bulk it up with a side of rice or bread.

spanish-mexican black bean stew, reminiscent of a vegetarian chili con carne.

spicy spanish-mexican black bean stew

1 cup dried black turtle beans
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 chilli, chopped
2 large tomatoes, chopped
2 teaspoons Spanish hot smoked paprika
1 teaspoon cocoa powder
2 bay leaves
a little oil, for frying
salt, to taste

- Soak the dried black beans overnight in a large bowl of water.

- The next day, drain well, rinse and transfer to a pot with 4 cups water, bring to boil and turn down to a simmer.

- Meanwhile, sauté garlic, onion and chilli in about one teaspoon oil until soft. Add in the chopped tomatoes and hot smoked paprika and lightly sauté for a few more minutes. Stir the mixture into the pot with black beans. Add in the bay leaves and cocoa powder.

- Simmer until the liquid is thick and reduced, and the beans are tender. Mine took just under 2 hours of uncovered simmering. If you like, you can lightly puree half the beans for a creamier soup/stew.

- Season with salt to taste. Garnish with fresh tomatoes and a sprinkling of herbs such as parsley, if desired. Retrieve bay leaves before eating.

- This can be eaten by itself or accompanied with salad, rice or bread. It also benefits from an addition of fresh-tasting and/or slightly acidic elements. We kept it super-simple and had it with sliced tomatoes, yoghurt and pita bread. Next time, I'd like to try it with guacamole and feta cheese as well! I imagine it would also go well with this lemongrass yoghurt dip.


So there you have it, a bold, earthy Spanish-Mexican inspired black bean stew. We had this for lunch and dinner and I believe it tasted even better the second time around, as the sauce thickened and the flavours developed further. Simon liked it a lot and wanted to know more about the ingredients in the dish. I gladly obliged - here's hoping next time he'll be cooking this for me!

thick, rich and earthy black bean stew.

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