Posts Tagged by avocado

One of my favorite meals (pre-vegetarian days and now) has always been tacos. I love the messiness of them, and I love the multitude of favors – especially the contrast of spicy “meat” with crisp lettuce and cool cheese.

Now, if you’re a vegetarian (or someone looking for a healthier alternative) and find yourself with a hankering for tacos, you could go to the grocery store, get yourself a package of soy meat crumbles and a packet of taco seasoning and whip yourself up a delicious meal in no time at all.

Or…for less money, more nutrition, and the same amount of time, you can try this homemade version instead.

The star of the show – lentils.

Lentils are legumes that are packed with nutrition. They’re high in fiber, protein, and vitamins…and low in calories. And the best part – compared to other dried beans, they don’t take that long to cook. No soaking or extensive preparation needed.

I used to be afraid of lentils. Even though I’ve been a vegetarian for 14 years now, it wasn’t until last winter that I actually discovered my love for them. I’m not really sure why, but for the first 25ish years of my life, I wouldn’t go anywhere near them. Then one day my roommate (a lover of lentils) finally convinced me to try them – and the rest is history.

Although lentils are typically considered a winter food, my favorite thing to make with them can be enjoyed all year-round: Tacos.

Yes, I realize this looks like a burrito — but I prefer to call it a soft-shelled taco

Vegetarian Tacos with Homemade Guacamole

No-Fail Lentil Prep

Lentils are the perfect thing to use as taco filling, because they easily absorb flavors and have a meat-like heartiness when cooked. This filling is extremely easy to prepare, but does require some advance preparation, since lentils can take up to 45 minutes to cook.

There are two important things you need to do when preparing lentils:

1.) Before doing anything, give them a good rinse with cold water. Look carefully to make sure they’re clean and no small stones are hiding in the bowl (these are dried beans, after all).

2.) When cooking, make sure to use enough water. Otherwise you may be stuck with a bunch that don’t open up. For each 1 cup of lentils that you cook, you should add at least 3 cups of water. Don’t worry about all that being absorbed by the end; you can drain out the extra when you’re done.

My fail-proof strategy — cook the beans in a big pot with lots of extra water, like you would pasta. Bring the water to a boil, add lentils (I used 1 cup) and reduce heat to simmer. Cover and cook for 30 – 45 minutes.

Homemade Guacamole

(makes 3 generous portions)

While your lentils are cooking, get to work making the guacamole. In a bowl, combine:

• 1 ripe avocado, pitted and peeled
• 1/4 cup diced tomatoes
• 1/4 cup freshly chopped cilantro
• 1 tsp crushed red pepper
• Salt (to taste)

Squeeze the juice from ~1/4 of a lime over ingredients and mash with fork until well combined. You want the mixture to be spreadable, but still a little chunky.

Cover and keep in fridge until tacos are ready.

Lentil Taco ‘Meat’

Once the lentils are soft, it’s time to give them some flavor! It’s super easy to make a great-tasting filling without those high-sodium flavor packets. For this meal, I just used:

• 1 huge handful of diced tomatoes
• A drizzle of extra virgin olive oil
• Garlic, salt, and the following spices:

That would be minced onion, crushed red pepper, ground cumin, chili powder, and paprika.

Quick fact about me: I hate onions. It’s mostly a texture thing, but I can’t stand foods that have a strong onion flavor. So when it comes to cooking, I either skip it altogether (like with the guac) or I cheat. Minced onion adds a little bit of flavor to a dish without that overwhelming onion taste or slimy texture.

Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way…back to the filling:

1. In a medium-sized pot, combine the tomatoes, a drizzle of olive oil and spices. Cook over medium-high heat until tomatoes start to soften, about 5 minutes or so.
2. Add your drained lentils and cook for another 5 -10 minutes, until the lentils have really absorbed all the flavors. Add extra spices as necessary.

Now you’re ready to prepare your feast!

Notice the Chobani in the back left? No, that’s not for dessert. Greek Yogurt actually makes an excellent substitution for sour cream. It’s just about the same consistency, and lower in fat and calories. You can’t even tell the difference – I promise!

Now you tell me — what could be better on a hot summer night than tacos, Corona, and Sox vs. Yankees?

.