I love Mexican food: tacos, burritos, nachos, guacamole, salsa etc. I think it’s the delicious combination of flavours and textures. The meals always feel so comforting, hearty and satisfying. Needless to say I haven’t indulged in the traditional cooked versions of these meals in quite some time… but I enjoy using common cooked dishes as inspiration for creating raw meals, and decided to try and make some vegan Mexican tacos.
I used romaine leaves in place of taco shells because I wanted to keep things simple. They are so fresh and crunchy and always make a good base for your other desired ingredients. This high fibre lettuce is a great source of vitamin A and C and folate, and also carotenoids, anthocyanins and phenolics. Next I use cauliflower which I pulse until it resembles a rice-like texture. Then comes the simple salsa and the deliciously creamy and spicy chipotle sauce. I use chipotle powder in this sauce which is simply a dried, smoke jalapeno pepper. It has a delicious, rich, spicy flavour. Jalapeno’s have a unique compound in them called capsaicin which has been shown to have strong anti-cancer properties.
You are left with a brightly coloured, nutritious meal that is both fun and delicious for everyone to eat. These vegan Mexican tacos make a great dish to eat for lunch or dinner.
Mexican Taco’s with a Spicy Chipotle Sauce
This is a light, tasty and satisfying meal bursting with Mexican flavours, a variety of textures, and a creamy vibrant sauce to top it all off.
Rice
- 1 small head cauliflower
- 1/2 tsp cumin powder
- 1/2 tsp oregano powder
Salsa
- 1/2 large red capsicum
- 1 large tomato
- 1 small red onion
- 1 medium cucumber
- 1 handful fresh cilantro
Sauce
- 1/4 cup sundried tomatoes (soaked for half an hour)
- 1 large tomato
- 1 small garlic clove
- 1/2 small lemon (juiced)
- 1/4 medium avocado
- 1/4 tsp chipotle powder
- 1/4 tsp paprika powder
- 1 pinch cayenne pepper
- 3/4 cup water
Other
- 10 fresh cos (romaine) lettuce leaves
- 1/2 cup purple cabbage (chopped)
- extra avocado slices
-
Pulse the cauliflower, cumin and oregano until it resembles rice. Be careful not to over-blend.
-
Finely chop all the salsa ingredients and add to a bowl.
-
Blend all the sauce ingredients.
-
Layer the rice, salsa, cabbage and avocado slices on the cos lettuce leaves.
-
Top with the sauce and extra cilantro. Enjoy!
There will most likely be lots of sauce left over. It will store in the fridge for up to 3 days. Use it as a dip or on salads etc.
