This recipe was created by Kali Hamm, a veg scheme member and plant-powered chef. Follow her on instagram for her latest recipes, news and events.
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A fun dinner, using seasonal produce but with Mexican flavours, sure to warm you up in the colder months. What brings the tacos to life are the salsas so don’t skip them. This spread requires a little work but it’s worth it and it really nice to share with family and friends. A sneaky way to get kids eating healthy beets too.
Serves 4
2 beetroot – about 250g
2 sweet potato – about 300g
2 tbsp coconut oil
2 red onion, sliced
50g toasted pumpkin seeds
50g roughly chopped fresh basil
1 heaped tsp paprika
Chipotle cashew crema
50g cashews, soaked for 4 hours minimum
50g water
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 heaped tsp capers
1 clove garlic
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 tbsp nutritional yeast
1 tsp chipotle
juice ½- 1 lime
Peanut chile morita salsa
100g peanuts
5 dried chipotle
5 dried cascabel chillies
1 white onion
2 cloves garlic
200ml olive oil
pinch salt
Lettuce and corn tortillas to wrap
Finely sliced red cabbage for garnish and lime wedges to serve.
Pre-heat the oven 200c. While the oven is warming roast the peanuts for the motita salsa, until golden, about 10 minutes. Set aside.
Steam the beetroot in a pan with a little water and the lid on for about 30 minutes until just tender. Cut the sweet potato into 2 cm pieces, steam in a little water in a pan with the lid on for 15 minutes.
Line two baking trays with parchment paper. Cut the beetroot into 1cm pieces and place on one of the trays, drizzle with coconut oil. On the other place your drained sweet potato and drizzle with the rest of the coconut oil.
Roast for 30 minutes until they begin to take on colour, add your onions and continue to roast for another 10 minutes.
Once all your roast veg is ready mix together in a bowl with the paprika, coriander, toasted pumpkin seeds and salt and pepper.
To make the peanut chile morita.
Finely chop or briefly blitz the peanuts in a food processor. In a small pan add your chiles and olive oil, reserving 50ml of the oil. Gently heat until you begin to see bubbles appear in the pan. Turn off and let sit for 15 minutes. In a separate pan, cook your onion in the remaining oil on a low heat until they become soft and begin to caramalise, add the garlic and cook for another couple of minutes.
Blitz everything except the peanuts in a high speed blender. Transfer to a jar or bowl and stir in the peanuts, season with a pinch of salt.
For the cashew crema, drain your cashews and blend ingredients in a high speed blender for about a minute until smooth, adding more water if it's too thick. Check for seasoning.
Serve with warm tortillas and whole lettuce leaves to wrap. Place all the components in the center of your table and allow people to make their own tortillas. Starting with your wrap- tortilla or lettuce, fill with the veg mix, top with cashew crema & salsa and some finely sliced red cabbage & a wedge of lime.
NB. Morita chipotle and cascabel chiles are widely available now in supermarkets. However I use Cool chile for most of my Mexican ingredient needs, you can find their produce in many local shops and Wholefoods. They also have great fresh corn tortillas or masa harina – tortilla corn flour if you want to have a go at making your own.
