Taco Tuesday has long been a thing in the US and slowly I think it is spreading through the UK too. I realised I didn’t have a taco recipe on the blog and was suffering from FOMO so I decided to change that! Here is hopefully the first of many taco recipes to come, and I am kickstarting it with a delicious vegetarian soft taco!
These taco fillings are simple to prepare and make for a great combination! I wasn’t able to find soft small taco shells in the shops near me, although they probably do exist somewhere in the UK and I didn’t fancy making them as I wanted to keep version as simplistic as possible. But, I found that using large tortilla wraps which are readily available in almost all supermarkets are the perfect substitute. I simply used a small bowl (12cm) to cut out perfectly shaped taco shells. I then toasted them in a dry frying pan, and to help them maintain the taco shell shape, I used my cheese grater as a rack for them to cool slightly in the shape of a standard taco shell. This is optional and you can also keep them flat, but I found that letting them cool in this way meant that they were easier to eat. Here’s a full break down of the method:
- Preheat the oven to 200℃ / 180℃ Fan. Line a large baking tray with greaseproof paper and spread out the sweet potato cubes and cauliflower florets. Ensure nothing overlaps to allow them to get a little crispy around the edges. Evenly sprinkle over the spice mix and drizzle enough olive oil to cover each piece. Use your hands to massage all the spices into the veggies and then roast for 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, prepare your tomato salsa. Add the chopped tomatoes to a bowl with the red onion. Squeeze in the juice of half a lime and season with salt. Mix and check the seasoning. If you like it more tart, add more lime juice. Set aside and allow the flavour to develop.
- Next, prepare your black beans! Place a medium frying pan on a medium-high heat, add the olive oil and the garlic and sauté for 1 minute before adding the rinsed black beans. Add the spices and gradually add a tablespoon of water at a time to help the beans break down. Fry for around 5 minutes and use the back of your spoon to break down the beans until they are almost completely mashed. Remove from the pan and set aside.
- Time to prepare your taco shells! If using large tortilla wraps, use a 12cm bowl and a small sharp knife to carefully cut out the smaller taco shells. Then heat a large clean frying pan on a high heat until it’s smoking hot. Add the taco shells and toast for 1 minute each side until slightly charred. Reduce the heat slightly if they are burning.
- Time to plate up! Take your toasted taco shell, spread some black beans on the bottom, add with the roast sweet potato and cauliflower, spoon on some tomato salsa and top with a slice of avocado, crumbled feta and some radish. Finally drizzle some sour cream, a small sprinkling of coriander limes and a squeeze of fresh lime.
I also made 3 tacos per person, and trust me, we were all satisfied. The combination of the sweet potato and the black beans really does fill your tummy and although we probably could’ve manage one more taco, we made the right decision to stop at 3.
For the toppings, you can chop and change these but I found that feta, albeit not a traditional taco topping, was a wonderful additional and rather than making a guacamole, I kept the avocado in slices to accompany the tomato salsa. I also used some Japanese radishes I had in my fridge, but you can substitute these for any kind of radish you can find at your local supermarket!
So go ahead, and give these beautiful roasted veggie tacos a go! You won’t be disappointed!
3
servings20
minutes30
minutes50
minutesIngredients
300 g Sweet Potato, 1 cm cubes
300 g Cauliflower florets
6 Tortilla wraps or Soft taco wraps
1/2 Avocado, sliced
50 g Feta
Radishes, julienned
Small handful fresh coriander, rinsed & roughly chopped
Sour cream
2 Limes
- Spice Mix
1 Tsp Smoked Paprika
1/2 Tsp Garlic powder
1/4 Tsp Onion powder
1/2 Tsp Ground cumin
1/2 Tsp Cumin seeds
1/4 Tsp Cayenne pepper
1/2 Tsp Salt
1/4 Tsp Pepper
Olive oil
- Salsa
10 Cherry tomatoes, roughly chopped
1/4 Red onion, finely diced
1/2 Lime, juice
Pinch of Salt
- Refried Beans
2 Tbsp Olive oil
2 Garlic cloves, finely chopped
400 g Black beans, drained & rinsed
1/2 Tsp Ground cumin
1/4 Tsp Chilli powder
1/4 Tsp Salt
Water
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 200℃ / 180℃ Fan. Line a large baking tray with greaseproof paper and spread out the sweet potato cubes and cauliflower florets. Ensure nothing overlaps to allow them to get a little crispy around the edges. Evenly sprinkle over the spice mix and drizzle enough olive oil to cover each piece. Use your hands to massage all the spices into the veggies and then roast for 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, prepare your tomato salsa. Add the chopped tomatoes to a bowl with the red onion. Squeeze in the juice of half a lime and season with salt. Mix and check the seasoning. If you like it more tart, add more lime juice. Set aside and allow the flavour to develop.
- Next, prepare your black beans! Place a medium frying pan on a medium-high heat, add the olive oil and the garlic and sauté for 1 minute before adding the rinsed black beans. Add the spices and gradually add a tablespoon of water at a time to help the beans break down. Fry for around 5 minutes and use the back of your spoon to break down the beans until they are almost completely mashed. Remove from the pan and set aside.
- Time to prepare your taco shells! If using large tortilla wraps, use a 12cm bowl and a small sharp knife to carefully cut out the smaller taco shells. Then heat a large clean frying pan on a high heat until it’s smoking hot. Add the taco shells and toast for 1 minute each side until slightly charred. Reduce the heat slightly if they are burning.
- Time to plate up! Take your toasted taco shell, spread some black beans on the bottom, add with the roast sweet potato and cauliflower, spoon on some tomato salsa and top with a slice of avocado, crumbled feta and some radish. Finally add some sour cream, a small sprinkling of coriander limes and a squeeze of fresh lime.
