If you thought giving up meat meant that taco night was a thing of the past—rejoice! These tacos put your ground Basic Beef Seitan (page 26) to good use, so you can cook these up the same way you used to, just with plant-based meat and without a packet of mystery additives and spices.
Yield: 4 servings (1¾ cups, 1 pound) • Cooking Time: 20 minutes
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
2 tablespoons sherry
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 teaspoons tamari soy sauce
2 teaspoons smoked paprika
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons dried oregano
½ teaspoon smoked salt
1 ½ cups ground Basic Beef Seitan (page 26)
8 hard or soft taco shells
Lettuce, sliced avocados, sliced red onions, sliced tomatoes, and sliced jalapeño peppers for garnish
In a large sauté pan over medium-high heat, warm the oil for a few seconds. Add the onion and sauté, stirring constantly, for 10 minutes, or until softened. Add the sherry and tomato paste and stir until well combined. Add the tamari, paprika, cumin, oregano, and smoked salt and stir until well combined.
Add the basic beef seitan and stir until the mixture is well combined and the crumbles are thoroughly coated. Keep stirring until the mixture has heated through and is thickened and browned.
Serve hot with the taco shells, lettuce, tomatoes, and jalapeño peppers.
Smoky Chipotle Mushroom Taco Meat (GF)
If you want to add more veggies to your life, try this mix with minced mushrooms, ground Basic Beef Seitan (page 26), and the smoky flavor of chipotle and smoked paprika.
Yield: 5 servings (1 pound, 2 ½ cups) • Cooking Time: 30 minutes
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
½ pound button mushrooms, wiped clean
½ pound Basic Beef Seitan (page 26), cubed
2 garlic cloves
1 tablespoon mock beef-flavored broth powder
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon chipotle powder or more to taste
½ teaspoon smoked salt
1 tablespoon tomato paste
¼ teaspoon vegan Worcestershire sauce
Taco shells for serving (optional)
In a large sauté pan over medium-high heat, warm the oil. Add the onions and sauté, stirring frequently, for 10 minutes.
Place the mushrooms in the bowl of the food processor and mince them into bits the size of ground beef. Stir the mushrooms into the pan and continue to sauté.
Place the basic beef seitan in the bowl of the food processor and mince it into bits the size of cooked ground beef. Stir the seitan into the pan and continue to sauté.
Add the garlic to the pan and sauté, stirring frequently, for 10 minutes, or until the mushrooms have given up their liquid and the pan is dry (reduce the heat to medium if the mixture begins to stick).
Sprinkle the broth powder, cumin, and smoked salt over the contents of the pan and stir.
In a cup, stir together the tomato paste and Worcestershire sauce until smooth. Stir the mixture into the pan. Cook until the mixture is completely browned and dry. Remove from the heat.
Transfer to a serving bowl or into the taco shells and serve hot.
Walnut-Cauliflower Ground Beef (GF)
Your food processor does all the work in this easy recipe, where minced cauliflower and walnuts mimic ground beef. If you have a guest coming who is avoiding soy, gluten, or dairy, this will make her day.
Yield: 4 servings (1 ¾ cups, 6 ounces) • Cooking Time: 25 minutes
2 tablespoons refined coconut oil
2 cups cauliflower florets
1 small onion, quartered
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon tomato paste
½ teaspoon organic granulated sugar
¼ teaspoon dried oregano
½ teaspoon chipotle powder
½ teaspoon smoked salt
1 cup walnut halves and pieces
Warmed tortillas or taco shells for serving
In a large skillet over medium heat, warm the oil.
Drop the cauliflower florets and onion quarters through the feed tube of a running food processor fitted with the “S” blade and process them to a fine mince.
Scrape the contents of the food processor bowl into the skillet and sauté, stirring constantly, for 5 minutes, or until the cauliflower is very soft and browned and the pan is dry.
Add the garlic, tomato paste, sugar, oregano, chipotle powder, and smoked salt to the skillet. Stir and cut in the ingredients until the mixture is well combined.
Place the walnuts in the bowl of the food processor and mince them into bits the size of cooked ground beef.
Stir the walnuts into the skillet and cook until the mixture smells like toasted walnuts. Remove from the heat.
Serve in the warmed tortillas or set aside to cool to room temperature and store in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Barbecue Sauce and Jackfruit Pulled Pork (GF)
This barbecue sauce is a great pantry staple; if you make your own, you can be sure there’s no bacon or weird ingredients in your barbecue. Serve the sauce with the Jackfruit Pulled Pork and stuff it in a bun or make the sauce for the Kansas-Style Ribs on page 107.
Yield: 5 servings (2 ½ cups) pulled pork and 1 ½ cups sauce (enough for 2 batches) • Cooking Time: 30 minutes for sauce, 30 minutes for pork
For the sauce
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 small yellow onion, diced
4 garlic cloves, minced
½ cup apple juice
¼ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
6 ounces tomato paste
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
¼ cup light brown sugar
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
¾ teaspoon sea salt, more to taste
½ teaspoon chipotle powder
½ teaspoon smoked paprika
2 tablespoons vegan Worcestershire sauce (optional)
For the pulled pork
2 (14-ounce) cans young jackfruit in brine, drained
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
½ cup vegetable stock
Water as needed
Buns for serving
Make the sauce: In a large sauté pan over medium heat, warm the oil. Add the onion and sauté, stirring constantly, until it starts to sizzle. Reduce the heat to medium-low and sauté for 10 minutes, or until soft and lightly golden. Add the garlic and cook for 2 minutes.
In a cup, whisk together the apple and lemon juices, tomato paste, and cider vinegar. Add the mixture to the pan, along with the brown sugar, mustard, salt, chipotle powder, and paprika, and the Worcestershire sauce, if using. Stir until well combined, bring to a simmer, and cook at a barely bubbling simmer, stirring frequently, for 10 minutes, or until thickened. Remove from the heat.
Make the pork: Drain and rinse the jackfruit very well to try to remove as much salt as possible.
In a large sauté pan with a lid over medium-high heat, warm the oil. Add the jackfruit to the pan and stir. When the jackfruit starts to stick and brown, reduce the heat to medium and cook, stirring constantly, until it is fully browned and the pan is dry.
Add the vegetable stock to the pan; it will bubble up. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and cook for 20 minutes, checking halfway through the cooking time to see if the pan is dry; if needed, add water to keep it from sticking.
Uncover the pan and mash the jackfruit with a fork or potato masher. Add ¾ cup of the prepared barbecue sauce and ½ cup water and stir. Cook, stirring frequently, for 5 minutes, or until the mixture is thick. Remove from the heat.
Serve hot on the buns.
Jerk, the taste of Jamaica, transforms the herbs and spices that are so bountiful on the island into one of the most famous meat marinades there is. In this version, meaty strands of green jackfruit take on the form of falling-apart slow roasted pork and beautifully absorb the spicy, herby jerk seasoning.
Yield: ¾ cup jerk seasoning (enough for 3 batches) and 1 ¼ cups jerked pork
(enough for 3 sandwiches) • Seasoning preparation time: 15 minutes, pork Cooking Time: 30 minutes
For the jerk seasoning
4 large green onions, chopped
1 large jalapeño pepper, seeded
¼ cup white wine vinegar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh thyme leaves
1 tablespoon whole black peppercorns
1 tablespoon whole allspice
1 tablespoon chopped fresh ginger
2 teaspoons organic granulated sugar
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
⅛ teaspoon liquid smoke (optional)
For the pork
1 (14-ounce) can young jackfruit in water, drained and rinsed
Olive oil for frying
Water as needed
Make the jerk seasoning: In the bowl of a food processor fitted with the “S” blade or the jug of a blender, combine the green onions, jalapeño pepper, vinegar, soy sauce, thyme, peppercorns, allspice, ginger, sugar, salt, and nutmeg, and the liquid smoke, if using. Puree until the mixture is finely ground.
Scrape the mixture into a bowl. You’ll have about ¾ cup, enough for three batches of this dish. Divide into three portions and store the other two portions in the freezer for up to 1 month.
Make the pork: Add the jackfruit to the bowl containing the jerk seasoning and toss until well coated.
In a large, wide sauté pan with a lid over high heat, warm 1 tablespoon or so of the oil. Add the drained jackfruit and seasoning, reduce the heat to medium-high, and stir.
When the seasoning begins to thicken, add ¼ cup of water, reduce the heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes.
Uncover the pan and, using a fork or potato masher, mash the fruit. When the jackfruit has the consistency of meaty looking shreds, taste and adjust the sauce; if it is thin, cook it for a few minutes, or if it is dry, add 1 tablespoon of water. Remove from the heat.
Serve hot.
Turkey Roll with Stuffing