Vegan Tacos with Nut-Meat and Pineapple Salsa Recipe
A while ago I took on the challenge of being completely vegan (no meat, eggs, dairy, etc) for a week to support World Vegetarian Awareness Month. I thought I might feel a little restricted or deprived with what I could eat, but the opposite happened – it forced me to be more creative. Hand on heart, I can say that I’d choose some of the meals I made during that time over any meat dish – and the same goes for my meat-loving husband. I’m not saying we need to cut out meat completely, but I do think that including at least a couple of meat-free meals in your diet every week is good for our health and the environment. To make this recipe gluten-free ensure that you use Tamari soy sauce and gluten-free corn tacos.
Dairy Free, Gluten Free, Kid Friendly
Nut mince
- ¾ cup walnuts
- ¾ cup roasted almonds
- ½ cup sundried tomatoes chopped
- 1 clove garlic (small) or ½ medium clove, minced
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon ground coriander
- ¼ teaspoon ground chilli or cayenne pepper
- 1½ tablespoons soy sauce or tamari
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
Salsa
- 1½ cups pineapple or mango, ripe diced
- ½ red onion finely diced
- 3-5 vine-ripened tomatoes diced
- ¾ cup coriander chopped
- 1-2 tablespoons lime of lemon juice
Guacamole
- avocados flesh of 2 just-ripe
- 3-4 tablespoons lime or lemon juice
To serve
- 12 soft corn tortillas or crispy corn taco shells
- ⅓ cup pickled jalapeños
To make the nut-mince, place all ingredients in a food processor and pulse a few times until ingredients are crumbly and just combined – be careful that you don’t over-process the mixture or else it will lose its crumbly texture and be too smooth. The texture should reassemble that of crumbly cooked mince.
Combine all salsa ingredients and season to taste with salt, pepper, lime or lemon juice and a drizzle of extra-virgin olive or avocado oil.
Mash avocado and lime or lemon juice together, and season to taste with salt and pepper.
Cook tortillas or taco shells according to packet instructions – generally taco shells you bake in the oven at 180degC for about 5 minutes, and soft tortillas you heat in a hot fry pan with a little drizzle of oil.
To serve, place all components of the meal in the middle of the table for people to help themselves and build their own tacos. To build a taco, spoon some nut-mince, salsa and guacamole into a tortilla/taco, top with a few jalapeños and eat!