Vegan Walnut Taco Meat
Had my first taste of walnut taco meat at Pomegrante Cafe here in Phoenix. I was surprised at how delicious it was and what I love about it is it isn’t anything overly processed like tofu or seitan - just plan o'l’ walnuts. Original recipe from here. I added Trader Joe’s Crunchy Chili Oil to it for an extra kick and some corn and black beans for more flavor.
Ingredients
2/3 cup sun-dried tomatoes
3 cups raw walnuts
4 cloves garlic (minced)
1/2 tsp sea salt (plus more to taste)
1 Tbsp smoked paprika
1 Tbsp ground cumin
1 Tbsp chili powder
2 tsp coconut sugar (omit if avoiding sugar, or sub a little stevia)
2 tsp chili paste (I like Sambal Oelek - found in Asian section of grocery store)
4 Tbsp nutritional yeast
~1/4 cup water as needed (plus more as needed)
Optional - 1/2 cup of corn (I like to just thaw frozen corn)
optional - 1 can black beans, drained
FOR GARNISH/SERVING (optional)
Tortillas
Cilantro
Avocado
Radish
What To Do
Add sun-dried tomatoes to a small bowl and cover with warm water. Set aside and allow to soak for at least 5 minutes.
To the bowl of a food processor, add walnuts and pulse into a semi-fine meal (some larger chunks are okay. Be careful not to churn into a butter). Transfer walnuts to a medium mixing bowl and set aside.
Drain the sun-dried tomatoes (reserving the water in a small bowl to add back to the sauce later on) and add to the bowl of the food processor. Add garlic, sea salt, smoked paprika, cumin, chili powder, coconut sugar, chili paste, and nutritional yeast (optional), and slowly add water and blend until a smooth paste is formed.
Add mixture to walnuts and stir to combine.
Enjoy in any setting one would use taco meat or you could put on top of quinoa with other veggies :)
