By Dr Megan Michaux
This Mexican Fiesta recipe brings all the delicious flavours of Mexican food to life while being plant-based, high in fibre, and providing a great amount of protein. Mexican favourites like guacamole, salsa, and vegan sour cream are all wrapped in a tortilla and create a delicious bite. It is great to serve as a sharing-style meal for your family and friends and is easy to prepare ahead of time. They’ll get a nutrient-dense meal, and they’ll love the variety of tastes and textures.
Ingredients:
- 2-3 Avocados
- 2 x red onions
- 2 x jalapeno peppers
- Coriander
- 3 lemons (juice and zest)
- 250 grams Cashew Nuts
- 1 cup of water
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar (or regular vinegar)
- 1 can diced Tomato
- 350 grams EXTRA FIRM tofu
- ¼ cup of BBQ sauce of your choice
- 1 tablespoon of olive oil
- 1 tablespoon of soy sauce (low sodium)
- 1 teaspoon of paprika
- 1 teaspoon of garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon of cumin
- 6 wholewheat tortillas (you could also use corn chips or taco shells)
- Salt and pepper for seasoning
Equipment:
- Blender
Guacamole:
- Dice 2 avocados into cubes.
- Dice half a red onion, one jalapeno, and a handful of coriander.
- Juice and zest one lemon.
- Add these all into a bowl and mash with a fork.
- Leave some bigger pieces of avocado if you like a chunkier guacamole.
Cashew Sour Cream:
- Soak the cashews in hot (not boiling) water for at least 10 minutes.
- Add the cashews, half a cup of water, 1 tablespoon of lemon juice, one tablespoon of apple cider vinegar, and a pinch of salt to a blender.
- You can add flavours you enjoy here—dill, mustard, and chilli could all work!
- Blend until smooth.
- Add more water in small increments until the texture is creamy.
- Keep this in the fridge until you’re ready to serve.
Tomato Salsa:
- Place one can of diced tomatoes, half a red onion, a handful of coriander, a tablespoon of lemon juice, and half a teaspoon of cumin in your blender.
- Blend until smooth.
- Add seasoning/spices to taste.
BBQ Tofu:
- Preheat the oven to 180°C. Line a baking sheet with baking paper.
- Drain the liquid off the tofu and grate it with a cheese grater into one bowl.
- In a second bowl mix the olive oil, soy sauce, paprika, garlic powder, and chilli powder.
- Add the grated tofu and mix gently to coat it in the spices.
- Spread the tofu over the baking sheet and bake for 25-30 minutes.
- Once the tofu is ready, mix your BBQ sauce and half a cup of water in a pan over low heat.
- Add the tofu to the pan and coat in the BBQ sauce.
- Do this just before you serve!
If you are using tortillas, warm them up in a pan before serving.
Notes:
- If you don’t have a blender, you can keep the salsa chunky. You could also use cashew nut butter to make the cream or buy a vegan sour cream alternative.
- Add chilli and jalapenos to reach your preferred spice level or leave them out.
- One tortilla served with tofu, cashew cream, guac, and salsa provides about 25 grams of protein and up to 12 grams of fibre!
- Does cooking the BBQ tofu sound like hard work? Replace it with a can of black beans to keep the protein and fibre high and the cooking simple.
- Add lettuce and cucumber to your tortilla for a nice crunch.