Saturday, March 30, 2013

Vegan Taco Filling (soy-free, gluten-free)

And more tacos! You can never have too many tacos.




My daughter is allergic to something and we don't know what it is, so I have cut soy and gluten out of my diet completely, because they are common allergens. This taco filling was born from necessity. We make these once a week and I just made these tonight!

I buy my ingredients at Whole Foods, my favorite grocery store.

Ingredients (preferably organic):
2  15oz cans of black beans, rinsed
1 16oz bag of frozen corn
1  large onion, diced (we use yellow onion)
1  medium garlic bulb, sliced or chopped
3/4  cup of carrots, chopped
1/4  cup of brown sugar
3  tablespoons of olive oil (we use extra virgin olive oil)
1 1/2  tablespoons of cumin
1  teaspoon of smoked sea salt (use plain sea salt as a substitute)
1/2  teaspoon of ground black pepper
1/2  teaspoon of red pepper flakes


Place a large pan on the stove (11" or larger), on medium to medium-high heat. Add the olive oil to the pan. Add the onion and garlic. If the onions and garlic are browning quickly, reduce heat to medium. Stir every minute or so, until the onion begins to become translucent. Add the carrots, and keep stirring every minute or so. Continue to cook for 5+ minutes, until the carrots are tender. Add the black beans and corn. Continue to stir this, every few minutes, for 7+ minutes until the corn is hot.

You have made the filling! Now let's add some flavor!

Flavor Flav

Add the brown sugar, cumin, smoked sea salt, ground black pepper, and red pepper flakes. Stir until the spices are distributed evenly.

If you don't have a lot of spices and don't want to invest in them, buy a packet of taco seasoning, and use that instead of the spice blend above.

As I said in yesterday's post: "If you are not generally someone who cooks a lot, I recommend tasting the taco meat after you add each spice. Start with a light hand--you can always add more spices later, but you can't remove them. If you wish a flavor was stronger, add more of that spice. If you wish a different spice was in the dish, add that too. Rosemary and basil are my favorite spices to add in on a whim. Listen to yourself and trust your taste." This is always good to remember.

Your dish will be done when it tastes right to you.

Turn off the burner and put it in a tortilla with your favorite taco toppings.

Do you have a favorite gluten-free, soy-free taco filling? I love trying new things! Please share it!

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