I whipped this up late afternoon when hanger levels were SKY HIGH (look out world) as I'd been too caught up in a dreamy sun-filled walk along the Yarra river. We're talking a European style 3pm feed, so there was no chance a vegetable was being roasted...I needed yummy results and I needed them now!
We've all been there and I find it's lunchtime I'm particularly bad at prepping for but lucky for me at least I had a batch of scrambled tofu from the day before raring to go, which made this delicious lunch of spiced veggie fill soft corn tacos taco around 10 mins to turn around. So if like me you often catch yourself cooking on an already hungry tummy you can....
1. Try and prep some versatile ingredients that you can add to a variety of meals that week if you're not a fan of eating the same meal over and over. For example a big tray of roasted veggies can be used in buddha bowls, put in curries, wraps, soups or eaten as they are with some added grains and legumes.
2. Meal prep for a good chunk of the week, yes I'm talking about you you super organised Sunday meal preppers. There's real benefits to planning out what you're eating especially if you have dietary requirements as it gives you the time to make sure you're getting all the important nutrients you need in a variety of different ways instead of just whatever requires the least effort.
3. Adapt how you cook. Hungry and in a hurry? it's all about steaming and stir frying.
This recipe combines a mix of one and two. It uses ingredients I always stock up on as I know i'll use them a lot in different cuisines eg. mushrooms, limes, red cabbage and I often keep a jar of roasted peppers or sun-dried tomatoes in the fridge to easily transform and add depth to salads, pasta dishes, sandwiches, wraps or in this case...tacos.
These tasty and colourful tacos can be eaten for breakfast, lunch or dinner whenever that taco craving kicks in and as with any recipe adapt to what you have - I get a veg box every 2 weeks which keeps me creative so I used what I had already so feel free to do the same.
RECIPE
Serves 2
Ingredients:
1 batch Scrambled Tofu *
2 Tbsp roasted peppers from a jar, or use fresh red pepper
1 cup red cabbage, shredded
1/2 lime, juiced
2 tsp apple cider vinegar
2 tsp smoked paprika
4 chestnut mushrooms, sliced
1 medium avocado
4 corn tortillas
Fresh coriander, chili flakes, extra lime wedges or even some crushed tortilla chips on top to serve
Method:
*Prepare your scrambled tofu before or at the same time as the taco filling in a separate saucepan. Recipe here. Alternatively you could use blackbeans and just cook them with the rest of the vegetables.
Preheat the oven to 160c. And warm your tortillas. I used some leftover frozen corn ones from a few weeks and these took around 10 minutes to warm up nicely.
Meanwhile, warm 2 tsp of avocado oil (or another oil, I chose avo for its high smoke point) in a small frying pan over a medium heat and add the mushrooms and red cabbage.
After about 5 minutes add the smoked paprika, cider vinegar and lime juice and stir through. Continue to toss the veggies for another 5 minutes or until the mushrooms appear soft and have reduced their size. Remove everything from the heat.
Divide the avocado between the four tacos and spread with a fork. Add the veggie mixture followed by the scrambled tofu and top with fresh coriander, a squeeze of lime, seasoning and chili flakes. I like to crush up some tortilla chips or add seeds on top too for some extra crunch.