Cheesy Beef & Black Bean One-Pan

Ingredients

• 500 g beef mince
• 1 x 400g tin black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes
• 1 red onion, finely diced
• 3 cloves garlic, finely sliced
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp chilli flakes
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 150 g mature cheddar, grated
• 8 small flour tortillas, warmed
• 150 g sour cream
• 20 g fresh coriander, roughly chopped
• 1 lime, cut into wedges
• shredded iceberg lettuce, to serve
• pickled jalapeños, to serve
• tomato salsa, to serve

Method

1. Heat the oil in a wide ovenproof frying pan over a high heat. Season the beef mince generously with salt and pepper, then add it to the pan in one piece — don't break it up, and don't crowd it. If your pan is on the small side, work in two batches; all at once and water comes out, and you've boiled the meat instead of browning it. Leave for 2–3 minutes until the underside is deeply crisp and mahogany brown, then break apart with a wooden spoon and cook for another 2 minutes. Drain off any excess fat, but leave the brown stuck bits — that's flavour.
2. Drop the heat to medium. Add the red onion and cook for 2 minutes until glossy and softening, then add the sliced garlic and cook for 30 seconds, just until fragrant and pale gold. Don't burn it — burnt garlic turns the whole pan bitter.
3. Stir in the smoked paprika, cumin, garlic powder and chilli flakes and bloom them in the oil for 60 seconds until fragrant and clinging to the meat. Raw spices taste dusty; bloomed spices taste of themselves.
4. Pour in the chopped tomatoes and black beans with a good splash of water — the liquid lifts the fond from the base of the pan and breaks the tomatoes down so they taste of summer fruit, not tin. Bring to a simmer and cook for 6–8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until thick and rich — a spoon should leave a brief trail across the pan. Taste, season, taste again. Adjust now, not at the table.
5. Scatter the grated cheddar evenly over the top and cover with a lid or foil for 2 minutes, until melted, bubbling and just starting to pool at the edges.
6. Meanwhile, warm the tortillas directly over a gas flame for 30 seconds each side until lightly charred and pliable, or in a dry pan over a medium-high heat.
7. Bring the pan straight to the table. Squeeze a wedge of lime over the bubbling cheese — the acid lifts everything you've just built — and scatter over the chopped coriander. Set out the warm tortillas, soured cream, shredded iceberg, pickled jalapeños and salsa alongside, with the remaining lime wedges for piling on.