It is hard to find a great vegetarian taco recipe, this one is fantastic. Charred vegetables dressed in spices, with creamy avocados and the most delicious roasted green salsa. I usually make a variety of tacos, one with meat or fish, and these vegetarian ones for my wife. I always end up eating a few of these tacos too, they are just too darned delicious. This is also probably my all time favorite green tomatillo salsa. The list of ingredients is deceptively long, but the recipe is super simple.
I have also used a number of other vegetables paired with broccolini, carrots, Brussels sprouts, sweet potatoes, scallions, cauliflower, asparagus, tomatoes, green beans, the list goes on, they are all excellent.
I absolutely love this cookbook for the diversity of dishes, flavors and fun, casual style. I cook from it quite often, see recipe for an amazing Mac 'N Cheese, and always have a delicious dinner.
For more recipes from this cookbook click here.
Ingredients:
For the tacos:
1-1 1/2 lb tender broccolini, trimmed of tough stems, or other vegetables, see note above
1 tablespoon EVOO
Salt to taste
1/4 teaspoon powdered garlic
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ancho chili powder (or chipotle, pasilla or other Mexican or plain chili powder)
Tortillas of choice
1-2 avocados, sliced
4 oz cojita or other cheese (leave out for vegan version)
1/2 cup cabbage (purple, green or lettuce will also work)
Sour cream (Leave out for vegan version)
For the roasted tomatillo salsa:
10 oz tomatillos, husked and washed (tomatoes work well too, add some extra lime juice to compensate for the tartness from the tomatillos)
1/2 large onion, chunked
2-3 garlic cloves, minced
1 green bell pepper, I love a fresh ancho pepper, seeded and chunked
2 tablespoons lime juice
Salt to taste
2 tablespoons EVOO
To char the broccolini (or vegetables):
Toss the broccolini (or vegetables) with all the ingredients so that the chili and cumin powders coat evenly and well. Lay them down on a lined baking sheet and broil till charred in places. Broiling times may vary depending on the vegetables. Alternatively, I prefer to grill them till charred.
To make the salsa:
Heat an oven to 450°F. Place the tomatillos and onion on a lined baking sheet and broil for 8-10 minutes, the onions will char first, and the tomatillos with brown and turn mushy. Take them off the sheet, collecting all the oozed juices and charred bits, mix with the rest of the ingredients and blitz in a small blender. You can leave it slightly chunky if you prefer the salsa that way. Taste and adjust for salt, tartness and spice.
To assemble:
Load the grilled broccolini, (or vegetables). on a taco, I like to grill these if I am using the grill, and load with cheese, slices of avocado, cabbage, sour cream and salsa. Wrap, if possible, and enjoy. Sloppy and messy, but too darned delicious.