A trip to New York in early 2013 introduced us to their posh food trucks and stalls – they were an eye opener about how delicious itinerant food can be, especially the one we ate from on the corner of Wooster and Prince, between Chelsea and the Lower East Side. Also, hats off to all the food truck guys for feeding blacked-out areas of New York at cost price during Hurricane Sandy in October 2012. The bean mix here is gorgeous; creamy and filling without being stodgy and bloaty, with a lovely clean beany flavour, and the various trimmings go incredibly well with it. Unlike some UK interpretations of tortillas, these are free from the ersatz flavours of refried beans, cumin and garlic. What follows are broad guidelines – this is mainly about the black bean recipe

8 soft corn tortillas

The beans:-

500g black beans, soaked for 2 hours and drained

5 medium carrots, peeled and quartered

4 sticks of celery sliced lengthways and cut in two

4 onions, halved

large bunch of coriander stalks, tied together with string

4 bay leaves

4 small spring onions, finely chopped

2 tablespoon powdered coriander

Salt and pepper

2 tablespoons chopped coriander leaves

Guacamole:-

4 ripe avocados, mashed

2 tsp cayenne

juice of a lime

sea salt

To serve:-

Grated cheddar cheese

Sour cream

Roughly sliced iceberg lettuce

Chopped mild red chillies, deseeded, or pickled chillies (San Marcos Pickled Chilpotle is especially good)

2 quartered limes

• Put the soaked and drained beans, carrot, celery, onions, bay leaves and coriander stalks into a big lidded wok or saucepan, and top up with just enough water to cover everything. Place on a low heat and bring to the boil. Cook gently for 90 -120 minutes until the beans are tender. Drain and reserve the cooking liquor. Pick out and discard the carrot, celery, onions, bay leaves and coriander stalks

• Return the drained beans to the large saucepan, add 3 tablespoons of the cooking liquor, the spring onions, the coriander powder, and season well. Cook gently for 8 minutes. Check seasoning again, and add a little more liquor if it looks too dry – the mixture should be very slightly runny. Resist any temptation to mash, these beans are meant to be kept whole. Stir in the coriander leaves. Set aside and keep warm. Warm through the tortillas, then bring everything to the table and let everyone assemble their own wraps and enjoy. Y'all have a nice day now!