Wednesday, March 13, 2013

The Weekday Vegetarian - Taco Night

Many families have a taco night. Taco night was an occasional thing for us, until I had to go gluten-free. Now it is a weekly event. Taco night has evolved as my cooking has evolved. I don't buy tomatoes out of season, and I very rarely buy lettuce out of season anymore. They are two foods that use incredible amounts of resources to grow, ship, and store during the winter. Tomatoes taste so much better in summer, that I am happy to wait for them, and lettuce has so few calories that it's become hard for me to justify buying it out of season, except on rare occasions. So, without the traditional meat filling and tomato and lettuce garnishes what does taco night look like?

The Filling

Saute an onion with cumin and coriander. Add chopped green peppers and beans (black or red beans). Add cayenne, chilli powder, and salt to taste.

Garnishes

Slices of pepper jack cheese and cabbage slaw. Cabbage slaw is traditional on fish tacos in tex mex restaurants. It's delicious on any taco though. I slice cabbage into long thin ribbons, which makes it easier to keep on the taco. Then I dress it with salt, lemon juice, a little oil, and something creamy - mayo, yogurt, or sour cream. Lately we've been using yogurt.

Shells

We prefer soft corn tortillas. I put a slice of pepper jack on each tortilla as I heat it up.

Sides

Some nights we just eat whatever's left of the slaw as a side. Last night I roasted plaintains with olive oil and salt for a side.

So that's what taco night currently looks like at my house.