Wednesday, January 27, 2016

Recipe: Avocado Cilantro Lime Vegan Chicken Tacos with Spicy Aioli



Vegan tacos are all the rage right now. I mean, have you seen the amount of press the Taco Scientists behind the crazy popular new book The Taco Cleanse have been getting? It's a good time to be a taco lover. I mean it's a trend I can really get behind. I flipping LOVE tacos.

I also like my tacos messy. Piled high with stuff and dripping wet with saucy goodness. Yesterday was Taco Tuesday, and like any good taco loving vegan, I headed out for a taco lunch with friends. And while lunch was amazing, I was left with a hankering for more. More tacos!


So I made up a batch of these bad boys, and my cravings were sated.


Avocado Cilantro Lime Vegan Chicken Tacos with Spicy Aioli

The marinade is bright and crisp with a strong lime tang thats pairs well with the richness of the oil as it infiltrates whatever protein you decide to use. (For these ones I used Soy Curls, but tofu, seitan, tempeh, large chunk TVP, Beyond Meat strips...all would work perfectly here.) The marinade also works really well as a salad dressing and over rice and beans. So, if you make to much for the tacos, don't worry, you will find a way to use it up. I wrote these instructions out so that you can make as few or as many tacos as you'd like to, so adjust the amounts accordingly.

For the Avocado Cilantro Lime Marinade:
1 ripe, but firm Avocado
1 bunch cilantro
1/4 cup lime juice
1 whole fresh jalapeno, stem removed (seeds can stay if you like it spicy)
1/2 cup olive oil, more if needed
salt and pepper to taste

For the Tacos:
your choice of protein (I used Butler Foods Soy Curls)
your favorite hot sauce (I used Yellowbird Jalapeno Sauce)
your favorite ranch-type dressing (I used Follow Your Heart Creamy Garlic)
your favorite vegan mayo (I used Follow Your Heart Vegenaise)
chopped curly kale
diced red onion
chopped cilantro
corn tortillas, toasted

To make the marinade: Add all ingredients to a blender and puree until smooth. Add additional oil, if needed, to desired consistency. It should be easily pourable. Add your favorite protein to a bowl or resealable plastic bag. Add enough marinade to coat liberally, cover, and refrigerate for at least one hour. While protein is marinating, you can prepare the kale and sauces.

To prepare the kale: Add desired amount of chopped kale to a mixing bowl. Add 1 tablespoon of dressing to every 2 cups of kale. You just need a little to coat and massage. Using your hands, massage the dressing into the kale. Make sure you coast every leaf and massage until you feel the kale get a little more tender. Set aside, or refrigerate until ready to serve.

To prepare the spicy aioli: Mix mayo with hot sauce at a ratio of 1/2 cup mayo to 1 tablespoon hot sauce...more if you like it even spicier. Transfer to a squeeze bottle (if you want to be fancy) or a small sandwich bag, that you can snip the corner off to get the same drizzle action...or just spoon it on.

To make the tacos: Preheat a frying pan over medium high heat. Add marinated protein to the pan and sauté until cooked through and slightly browned. Place a bed of kale on the toasted tortilla, then your protein, then a big drizzle of sauce, then onions, cilantro and extra hot sauce if desired.
Enjoy!



3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Looks fabulous! I love soy curls.

Unknown said...

This looks so yummy.. watery mouth. hehe. I just love this type of spicy item. thanks a lot for sharing this. Will try this soon :)

Reviews of assignment writing service

JeCsOn said...

hmmmmm

2012 Copyright/Permissions/Disclaimers

All recipes written by me, Joni Marie Newman, unless otherwise noted. Please feel free to refer to or link back to any of my recipes, but please ask for permission, and remember to give credit when reprinting recipes in their entirety. I do provide links to affiliate programs (such as Amazon) in which I receive a small commission for items purchased. I do not provide paid reviews. All reviews done on products or books are of my own unsolicited opinion. On occasion I may receive a book or product to review. I will note when this is the case, but rest assured, it will not affect the authenticity of my review. Thanks!--Joni