Vegetarian mains
Scrambled tofu tacos with kidney beans, crunchy salad and soured cream
Tacos seem poised to have their moment in the culinary limelight. Mexican food has been a star in the street food firmament for the last few years; the burrito boom as it has become known. There is even such a thing as the taco-cleanse diet in the States, although I fear this says more about modern media fads than it does about the detoxifying properties of the humble taco. The taco is essentially a tortilla wrap stuffed full of delicious and complementary ingredients. I think we've managed to tick that box with plenty of crunch from the salad, punch from the chilli, protein from the beans and tofu, and a cooling tang from the soured cream.
Ingredients
main
- 1 red pepper
- light olive oil
- 1 lemon
- 2 tsp brown sugar
- 1 red chilli
- 4 spring onions
- ½ cucumber (or 1 mini cucumber)
- 1 large or 2 small heads Little Gem lettuce
- 30g coriander
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 tin kidney beans
- 2 tomatoes
- 200g tofu
- pot soured cream
- pack tortillas
- salt and pepper
taco spice mix:
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp sweet smoked paprika
- ¼ tsp cinnamon
Method
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Step 1
Cut the pepper in half, remove the seeds and slice into thin strips. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in the frying pan and fry the pepper gently for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, juice half the lemon and mix the juice with the brown sugar.
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Step 2
Deseed and finely chop the red chilli. Keep the seeds in if you're keen on a bit more heat. Trim and very finely slice 4 spring onions. Take half of the cucumber and split it in half lengthways. Remove the soft, seedy core with the tip of a teaspoon and discard.
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Step 3
Slice into half cm pieces at an angle. In a shallow bowl, mix the sliced onions and cucumber with the sweetened lemon juice, one third of the chopped chilli and a good pinch of salt. Leave to macerate while you continue.
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Step 4
Cut the Little Gem lettuce into thin wedges. Wash and dry them well. Wash the coriander, shake dry and roughly chop, stalks and all.
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Step 5
Turn your grill on to a med/high heat. Peel and finely chop/crush the garlic cloves. Drain the kidney beans. Coarsely chop the tomatoes. Coarsely chop the tofu.
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Step 6
Add the garlic, tomatoes and kidney beans to the peppers. Cook for, 3-4 mins before adding the tofu, remaining chopped chilli and taco spice mix. Season with salt and pepper. Turn up the heat and sauté everything together for 4- 5 mins.
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Step 7
While the tofu cooks, mix 1 tbsp of oil in with the cucumbers and onions to make a dressing. Toss with the lettuce wedges to complete the salad. Slide 4 tortillas under the grill until warm but still pliable.
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Step 8
Add ½ of the chopped coriander to the tofu. Check the seasoning and adjust to your taste. Pile the scrambled tofu onto the tortillas and fold them over to make a taco.
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Step 9
Wedge in some salad and a blob of soured cream. Scatter in the remaining coriander. Serve any remaining salad on the side.