Roasted Calabacitas Soft Tacos with Creamy Red Chile Lime Sauce

Some of you might not be familiar with "Calabacitas." Calabacitas is the Spanish name for squash, but to us New Mexicans it refers to a traditional dish containing squash, roasted green chile, onions, and cheese. It is Southwestern ratatouille, if you will. 

It takes a while to roast the vegetables, but overall this is a really easy dish that you can make on weeknights.

Roasted Calabacitas Soft Tacos

Serves: 6

Time: 1 hour, 15 minutes active

For the Calabacitas Filling

4 tablespoons olive oil
1 red onion, chopped

5 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon oregano

6 cups chopped summer squash and zucchini

1 cup chopped roasted green chile (if you don't live in a place where roasted green chile is freely available, usually you can find it canned in the Mexican section of your grocery store)

2 cans pinto beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup frozen sweet corn

salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 450ºF. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl, making sure that everything is evenly coated with the oil. Spread the mix out evenly onto a rimmed baking sheet, and roast for about 45 minutes, stirring occasionally, until all the vegetables are evenly browned. 

For the Creamy Red Chile Lime Sauce

3/4 cup vegan mayo

juice of 1 lime

2 tablespoons red chile powder

salt and pepper to taste

Combine the mayo, lime juice, chile powder, salt, and pepper in a small bowl. 

To serve

18 corn torillas

chopped tomato

chopped avocado

Wrap the tortillas in a moist paper towel and microwave on high for about 40 seconds.

To serve, spoon calabacitas into tortillas, and top with sauce, tomatoes, and avocado.

Cheers!

Taco Salad

Here's a vegan taco salad recipe that is not necessarily great for you, but is loads better than its meatgrease-laden alter ego. You know, the 2,000 calorie taco salad described in that Budweiser commercial years ago. This one is probably 1,500 calories. Just kidding, it's probably not that bad! However, it is chockfull of protein, and because it's made with tempeh you need not fear the presence of any suspicious, processed faux ground beef. It has minimal cholesterol and saturated fat. Actually, has a good amount of veggies too. 

You can substitute romaine lettuce for the spinach if you like, but for heaven's sakes please don't use iceberg. Nutritious=not iceberg lettuce. Also, it would be pretty delicious with pinto beans rather than black beans as well! 

Taco Salad

makes 4 servings

For the Tempeh Mixture

2 packages tempeh (1 lb or 16 ounces), finely diced
4 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
juice of 1 lime
3 tablespoons shoyu (soy sauce)
4 tablespoons canola oil
3 teaspoons red chile powder
1 teaspoon cumin
3/4 cup light colored beer 
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup frozen corn

Put tempeh in a microwave-safe container, cover with water, and microwave for about 10 minutes, until water has boiled for a few minutes. Drain, and return tempeh to container. Add garlic, lime juice, shoyu, 2 tablespoons oil, red chile, and cumin. Mix to combine. Pour beer over mixture and stir. Marinate for an hour.

Heat remaining oil in a large pan. Add marinated tempeh and saute until browned, mashing with spatula to achieve a texture similar to ground beef. Add beans and heat through. Add corn and saute until all ingredients are warmed.

For the Guacamole

2 avocados, peeled
2 teaspoons granulated garlic
1 teaspoon dried minced onion
1/2 teaspoon salt
juice of 1/2 lime
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro

Mash all ingredients together.

For the Relish

2 large tomatoes, diced
1 red onion, diced
1/2 cup jarred sliced jalapenos, drained
3 diced scallions
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

Mix all ingredients in a large bowl.

For the Sour "Cream"

1 cup cashews

1/2 cup water

1 teaspoon lime juice

2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar

Soak the cashews in water overnight or boil and cool. Place in blender with the rest of ingredients and blend until smooth.

To serve

1 bag of corn chips 

1 cup cheddar Daiya

6 cups spinach

1 8 oz jar salsa 

Place desired amount of chips on individual plates. Sprinkle with Daiya and place in oven. Heat oven to 200ºF. Turn oven off, conserve energy! You just want chips warmed and cheese melted.

Once the tempeh-bean-corn mixture is ready, remove plates from oven. Place 1 1/2 cups spinach on each plate and distribute the tempeh mixture evenly on top of the spinach. Top each with relish, sour cream, guacamole, and salsa.