If you’ve never had vegetarian tacos, you will not believe how amazing these are and you won’t miss the meat at all! In fact, my husband who is a former football player, only ate Tacos al Pastor before, and now requests that I make these for him all the time. My first secret is to roast mushrooms, which concentrate the flavor and replace the meat. My second secret is to use sauteed greens that make these hearty and tasty. My third secret is to cook items separately for maximum flavor. And my final secret is to think about the colors on the taco.
ingredients for vegetarian tacos
Vegetarian tacos must look attractive, so you want some nice color, such as red from the peppers; white from the cheese; and green from the salsa verde on the top.
Please give vegetarian tacos a try! You won’t be disappointed and you can literally use any ingredients that you like. You know, the CG way, is to get around constraints by using what you have and what you like, so there are endless possibilities with vegetarian tacos.
Sauteed zucchini
chips and salsa
cooking tortillas
Vegetarian Tacos
servings=12
prep_time=45M
cook_time=30M
total_time=1H15M
difficulty=Easy
Ingredients
2 packages of small brown mushrooms (if you don’t have these, use cremini, white or portabello)
2 bunches of swiss chard, kale, spinach or other leafy greens (washed and tough stem removed)
1 red onion
1 zucchini
1 cup of pre-cooked beans, such as black, pinto or borlotti
2 garlic cloves
1 serrano pepper
2 red peppers, roasted
1/2 cup of cotija cheese
1 cup of salsa verde
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 lime
cilantro for garnish
12 corn tortillas
Puree pre-cooked beans with a tablespoon of olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon of cumin and chile powder. Set aside as base for tacos. Roast red peppers under broiler until skin is black. Remove skin and slice thinly. Place mushrooms in roasting pan and add 2 tablespoons olive oil, dash peperoncino and dot with butter. Roast for 30 minutes in 375 degree oven until nice and brown. This should smell really nice, too! Saute zucchini and red onion in olive oil until desired doneness. I like my zucchini pretty brown, but whatever you like is fine. Saute garlic and serrano pepper for 2 minutes in hot pan with 2 tablespoons olive oil. Add swiss chard to pan (this will sizzle; don’t be worried – it can also splatter if water is on the leaves – this is ok). Cook for a couple of minutes, turning often, until wilted. Once wilted, turn off heat and add some lime juice. Add tortillas to dry, very hot pan. These should only take about 30-45 seconds per side until heated, soft and bubbly. Remove quickly and keep in tortilla warmer. Add a tablespoon of the bean mixture first. Then, in sequential order, add greens; mushrooms; peppers, cotija; salsa and cilantro garnish. Sit down, grab your Mexican beer and enjoy!
