Vegan Dinner Recipe: The mighty taco

Tacos, baby.

Do these really require an introduction? I mean, EVERYBODY loves tacos, right? I have been really working on vegan alternatives for Mexican style food because Mexi is quick and casual and flavourful and fun.

I've just realised that I forgot to put jalapeno chillies on top. NOOOO! Now I'm going to have to make tacos again.

This recipe could serve up to four, because it makes quite a bit of bean filling. Make sure you buy enough taco shells and try not to overfill them (if you must over fill them, wear a bib).




Ingredients:

Bean/tvp filling:
Grapeseed oil (about a tablespoon)
An onion, chopped
Two cloves of garlic, diced
A teaspoon of ground cumin
A quarter of a capsicum, chopped small
One cup of tvp
Boiling water
Five little mushrooms (or the equivalent in larger mushrooms), halved and sliced
A tin of corn (as much as you'd like, I used 410g)
A tin of refried beans (I am going to start refrying my own, but I just DON'T have TIME at the moment
A tin of diced tomatoes
Sugar,
Lemon juice
And Salt to taste

Guacamole:
Two avocado
A tablespoon of oil
Three teaspoons of lemon juice
Two pinches of cumin
A pinch of salt
Half a shallot, diced fine
A small clove of garlic, diced fine
A few coriander leaves, chopped

The rest:
Grated vegan cheese to taste (I went with notzarella for the consistency
Tabasco or tomato salsa
Jalapenos  (I'm such a fool!)
Two large tomatoes, chopped
Some cos lettuce, cut into strips
Vegan sour cream (I use Tofutti brand)
A packet of taco shells (or as many as you will realistically need. As a rule, err on the side of more is more!)

Instructions:

Turn on the oven, you'll probably be required to heat the taco shells.

Bean mix:

First, measure out a cup of tvp. Pour boiling water over the top, enough to cover it, and then after it swells add a bit more water. I'm sorry, I forgot to measure how much water I was pouring but it was about a cup. You don't want the tvp swimming around, but you don't want it dry, either. Leave it to sit for ten minutes while you do the rest of the stuff.

Heat oil in a deep pan. Add the onion and garlic and cook for a couple of minutes on a low to medium heat.

Add the cumin, then the capsicum and mushrooms and cook until the mushrooms are done.

After the ten minutes is up add the tvp and the little bit of extra liquid it was soaking in. If there's more than a couple of tablespoons drain the water off. Cook for a couple of minutes.

Add the tinned corn and stir.

Then add the refried beans. Keep stirring and break up the beans, making sure it's stirred in thoroughly. Keep the heat low so the mix, which is very thick, doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan. Cook for a couple of minutes.

Pour in the can of tomatoes. Add salt, lemon juice and sugar to taste (up to a teaspoon of each, most likely), stir well, and leave it to cook while you prep everything else. All up, probably fifteen or twenty minutes. Obviously everything in the sauce is cooked anyway, so you just want it to thicken a bit. It doesn't need to be exact timing-wise.

Guacamole:

Put the avocado, oil and lemon juice in a bowl. Mash with a fork.

Add the shallot, garlic, cumin, and coriander, and salt to taste. Stir well. This is ready to go now.

Okay. So get your tomato and lettuce ready, grate your cheese, and your tacos will probably need to be popped in the oven for five or so minutes.

It's time! Fill the shell with bean mix, cheese, sour cream, tomato, lettuce, guacamole, salsa, tabasco, jalapeno, more, less, whatever you want... and try not to get it all over your shirt.