Serves a Party of 6
That’s right, walnut freakin’ tacos, people.
Offering all kinds of gorgeous ingredients, these interesting ass tacos are a way to really question what intuitive eating is all about. The pulsed and seasoned walnuts in this recipe resemble a very similar texture and taste to the traditional ground beef, aside from being a bit crunchier.
If beef is your jam, I’d still 1000% recommend giving the walnuts a shot one night for a meatless Monday or just to try something different for dinner.
After pulsing the walnuts, spices, and tamari(gluten-free soy sauce), I added them into a heated saucepan with avocado oil, freshly minced garlic, red onions, and green peppers seasoned with dried oregano, cumin, cayenne pepper, salt and pepper to be sautéed and simmered for up to 15 minutes.
While the walnut mixture was simmering, I created one of my favorite things ever – the beloved cashew queso crafted with soaked raw cashews, cilantro plant-based milk, squeezed lime juice, nutritional yeast, cayenne pepper, dried oregano, salt and pepper to be blended to a creamy sauce-like consistency. You can use this stuff for a whole bunch of recipes, including my loaded nacho recipe that has me excited to prepare time and time again.
The next part was where I finally went out of my comfort zone a bit and decided to make homemade salsa for the first time. This was definitely inspired by my girlfriends momma, who makes some of the best salsa I’ve ever had. Even though I didn’t have her recipe on hand, I had her in my thoughts the entire time and did everything I could to match the flavors.
I made the salsa by first boiling 4 tomatoes in order to make the skin easy to peel off. Word on the street is no one has time for tomato skin in their salsa, so I went with my gut and made sure to carefully peel it off before gently blending the with red onion, green pepper, Serrano peppers, squeezed lime juice, salt and pepper. Now I’ll admit, I probably shouldn’t have used tomato paste or something, as it came out a bit greener than I hoped, but I was still super proud and pleased with the result. There’s always next time, right?
Finally, I paired this extraordinary meal with a Moscow mule made with Tito’s vodka, Fever Tree ginger beer, squeezed lime juice, and a bit of ice which made for the perfect match.
Ingredients for the Walnut Meat:
- 6 Medium Tortillas
- 1/2 Red Onion
- 1/2 Green Bell Pepper
- 3 Cloves of Garlic
- 1 Can of Black Beans (eden brand)
- 1 and 1/2 Cups of Walnuts
- 2 Tablespoons of Tamari (gluten-free soy sauce)
- 2 Tablespoons of Avocado Oil
- 2 Teaspoons of Cumin
- 1 Teaspoon of Chili Powder
- 1 Teaspoon of Cayenne Pepper
- 1 Teaspoon of Dried Oregano
- Salt/Pepper
Ingredients for the Cashew Queso:
- 3/4 Cup of Raw Cashews
- 3/4 Cup of Oat Milk
- 1/2 Cup of Nutritional Yeast
- 1 Cup of Cilantro
- 1/2 Teaspoon of Cayenne
- Few Pinches of Salt and Pepper
- 2 Squeezed Limes
Ingredients for the Salsa:
- 4 Peeled Tomatoes
- 2 Serrano Peppers
- 1/2 Green Bell Pepper
- 3 Cloves of Garlic
- 2 Squeezed Limes
- 1 Cup of Cilantro
- Salt/Pepper
Begin by making the walnut meat. Heat up a large saucepan with the tablespoons of avocado oil.
In the meantime, prep your veggies by dicing the onion, chopping the green pepper, and mincing the garlic cloves.
Add in the dried oregano, cayenne pepper, cumin, salt and pepper, the give it a good stir and allow the veggies to simmer in the spices for a few minutes.
Toss in the black beans and allow to simmer once again while you prep the walnut mixture.
In a high speed blender, pulse together the walnuts, tamari, cumin, chili powder, salt and pepper, then add it into your large saucepan to let it all simmer one last time for a nice 10 or so minutes. Turn to low heat or set aside until you’re ready to plate your tacos.
Next, let’s make the cashew queso. Ensure your cashews are soaked by either leaving them in some water overnight, or by simply boiling them in water for up to 20 minutes.
When fully soaked, you’ll notice they turn a bit of a white color. Fold them into the blender along with the oat milk, nutritional yeast, cilantro, cayenne pepper, salt, pepper, and the squeezed lime juice, then blend until you have a super creamy cashew sauce with the tiniest kick to it.
Finally, we move onto the salsa by preparing the tomatoes to be skinned. To do this, boiling a few cups of water, drop in the tomatoes, and cover them for around 4 to 5 minutes. By then, you should be able to scoop them out of the pot and carefully peel the skin off.
Add the peeled tomatoes to a blender and gently pulse them with the red onion, garlic, green pepper, Serrano peppers, lime juice, salt and pepper until you have a chunky and delicious salsa.
To plate, I peeled, sliced, and laid down half of an avocado that I eventually dashed with dried oregano.
Lay down your tortillas, followed by the walnut meat, then the salsa, a drizzle of the cashew queso, and maybe even a few pieces of cilantro if that’s your vibe.
Plant Sugar Kitchen 