Magnificent News: Eat Voraciously: On learning

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Here's what's for dinner tonight.

By G. Daniela Galarza

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On learning

After years of putting it on my haphazard list of resolutions every January, after two years of study in high school and six months of living in Mexico City, I'm finally doing it. I'm taking Spanish language lessons.

If you don't know me personally, you might have assumed I knew Spanish already. After all, my father is a native Spanish speaker, and my last name hails from the Basque Country in Spain.

The other week I sat down at a Peruvian restaurant and the server greeted me in Spanish, making an assumption based on my appearance. I was unbothered; it's not the first time that's happened. (And, at least it's not as awkward as when a guest at a restaurant or hotel assumes I'm a member of the staff.)

On the first day of class, my instructor, Norma, started speaking in Spanish, in an effort to get me to speak whatever Spanish I knew. It was clear that she was trying to assess my comprehension and fluency, but as a natural-born shy kid, I kept sliding back into English, to clarify my broken Spanish. Eventually, she stopped me.

"When a baby is learning a language, they have to hear a word something like 300 times before they can make a sound that kind of, sort of sounds like that word," she said. "You are supposed to make mistakes when you're learning something new. In here, you have to pretend you're 2 years old again."

May we all give ourselves such grace when learning something new — including a recipe! No one is born knowing how to make a pancake, do a triple double or play the guitar. Whenever someone makes something look easy, I have to remind myself that they probably put in a lot of practice.

Learning a language is a gradual process, and even people who are fluent in other languages have to work to maintain that fluency. I think often of an NPR Fresh Air interview with the actor Javier Bardem that I heard back in 2011. When asked about performing in English, Bardem explained: "It's like here, I'm trying to express myself and share some opinions and be relaxed and giving you what I think, giving you some thoughts about what I feel or what I think. And there is this office in my brain full of people working at the same time that I'm talking to you trying to not, I mean, be wrong with the intonation, with the words. So it's very exhausting. If I speak Spanish, that office is closed."

Even if you're a confident cook, when you make a new recipe for the first time, it requires your attention. Your brain has to work a little harder, to understand a new-to-you ingredient or to absorb a new technique. This is a challenge, but therein lies the fun, too.

Tonight's recipe for bean and cheese tostadas is a fun one — and is kid-tested and kid-approved! It's from chef Gaby Melian's "Gaby's Latin American Kitchen" and it takes only 20 minutes to put together. If you'd like more of a challenge, make your own refried beans.

Today's recipe

Photos by Rey Lopez for The Washington Post; food styling by Nicola Justine Davis for The Washington Post

Tostadas de Frijoles y Queso (Bean and Cheese Tostadas)

Find substitution suggestions and other tips below the recipe.

Note: If you do not have crema, you can substitute with sour cream: In a small bowl, whisk together 1/2 cup sour cream, 1 tablespoon each of water and lime juice until well combined.

Storage: Refrigerate leftover beans for up to 5 days.

To save or print this recipe, view it in our Recipe Finder here.

Servings: 3 to 6 (makes 6 tostadas)
Total time: 20 mins

Ingredients

One (15-ounce) can refried beans (black or pinto)
1/4 cup water, plus more as needed
6 tostada shells
1 cup (6 ounces) crumbled queso fresco or shredded mozzarella cheese
4 romaine or iceberg lettuce leaves, thinly sliced
Flesh of 1 large avocado, sliced
Mexican crema (may substitute with sour cream; see Note)
Hot sauce, such as sriracha, for serving
Lime wedges, for serving (optional)

Steps

1. Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees.

2. In a small saucepan over medium-low heat, combine the beans and water, and warm, stirring with a rubber spatula, until the beans are warm and spreadable, about 3 minutes. Add more water, 1 tablespoon at a time, if needed. Remove from the heat.

3. Place the tostada shells on a large, rimmed baking sheet. Evenly divide the bean mixture among the shells, spreading into an even layer. Sprinkle the cheese evenly on top.

4. Transfer the baking sheet to the oven for about 5 minutes, or until the tostadas are warmed through.

5. Divide the tostadas among plates and top each with lettuce and avocado. Drizzle each with crema or sour cream and hot sauce, and serve with a lime wedge, if using.

Adapted from "Gaby's Latin American Kitchen" by Gaby Melian (America's Test Kitchen, 2022). Tested by Ann Maloney.

Nutrition information per serving (1 tostada, 1 tablespoon crema, 1 tablespoon sriracha), based on 6: Calories: 275; Total Fat: 17 g; Saturated Fat: 7 g; Cholesterol: 32 mg; Sodium: 736 mg; Carbohydrates: 22 g; Dietary Fiber: 6 g; Sugar: 2 g; Protein: 11 g.

Substitution suggestions + other tips and ideas:

If you can't have refried beans >> use eggplant, grilled or roasted until it slumps, and seasoned and mashed. Or try mashed avocado, for a take on what was probably the original avocado toast!
Not into hot sauce? >> Skip it.