These tacos are a tasty treat…
…and they’re a cinch to put together. Our highest priority here at PEM is quick and simple recipes that help everyone practice a more thoughtful way of eating.
But what does it really mean to eat thoughtfully?
We make countless choices when we put food in our mouths. Fast food or home-cooked? Stovetop or microwavable? Organic or conventional? Canned or dried? Meat or no meat? Paper or plastic? The choices are seemingly endless. To me, eating thoughtfully means making choices about food that reflect my most-valued principles and ideals.
Our values include our health, our taste buds, our environmental impact, our budget, and our time. Yours might be similar or completely different. Here’s the problem: when it comes to food, there’s inherent tension between these different values. Fast food is cheap and quick but it’s tough on my blood pressure. Cooking at home is great for our health and our budget, but it takes more time and effort… not to mention all those dirty dishes!
There will always be trade-offs. No meal will ever be perfectly healthy, cheap, quick, tasty, and sustainable. Sorry. So pick your battles and choose one or two of these things each meal… and then relax about the rest.
For these tacos (and for everything on this blog!), I chose healthy and quick. If you are feeling ambitious, see the “notes” section of the recipe for an explanation of the more time-consuming version. It is more sustainable and more tasty – it’s worth it!
- About 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- 1 onion, diced
- 1 jalapeño pepper, minced (seeds and ribs removed if you’re sensitive to heat)
- 4 peeled garlic cloves (3 minced, 1 left whole)
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1.5 tablespoons sea salt
- 4 cans of black beans, drained and rinsed (no salt added)
- 4 large portabella mushrooms
- 3 limes
- 1 avocado, pitted
- ½ cup fresh cilantro (optional)
- 12 corn tortillas
- Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large pot or dutch oven over medium heat and saute the onion, jalapeño, and 3 minced garlic cloves until the onions are translucent
- Stir in cumin, paprika, chili powder, 1 tablespoon salt, and juice from 2 limes
- Stir in black beans, along with 2 cups water
- Cover pot and simmer for 20 minutes while you prep the Mushrooms and Avocado Cream
- Twist the stems off the portabellas
- Slice them into long strips
- Lightly coat them in the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil
- Heat a grill pan over medium heat. Grill them for 3-5 minutes per side. (No grill pan? No problem! Just use a saute pan)
- In a blender, combine the avocado, 1 garlic clove, ½ tablespoon salt, juice from 1 lime and the cilantro (if using). Blend until smooth
- Add water and re-blend as needed to reach desired thickness.
- Gently heat corn tortillas in a skillet over low heat or for a few seconds in the microwave. Fill each taco with a scoop of black beans, a few grilled portabella strips and a drizzle of Avocado Cream.
[…] result of weekend experimentation with slow-cooked vegan taco filling (check out last time: Portobella Black Bean Tacos with Avocado Cream). This filling is sort of a combination between a stew and a braise and includes a St. […]