Sweet potato, lentils & avocado tacos
These sweet potato, lentils and avocado tacos are a vegan-friendly option that will make everyone at the table happy, really.
Ingredients
- 120 gr lentils
- 1 handful spinach
Sweet potato wedges
- 2 sweet potatoes
- mix of powdered spices (paprika, garlic, cumin, black pepper, salt)
- olive oil
Guacamole
- 1 large avocado
- 1 lime juice
Quick pickled onions
- 1 red onion
- 1 cup water
- 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1 tsp salt
To serve
- 6 small corn tortillas
- fresh cilantro (or parsley if you belong to the "cilantro is like soap" club)
- grated vegan or mozzarella cheese optional
Instructions
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Preheat the oven to 220ºC on grill mode. Rub and rinse the sweet potatoes under running water until clean, chop off the ends and slice into wedges.
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Drizzle some olive oil in a bowl, add the spices, sweet potato wedges – mix well until wedges are coated. Place on a prelined oven tray, bake 20 mins on one side, flip and bake for 10 more mins.
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In the meantime: cook the lentils in a pot/saucepan with lots of water and a pinch of salt. Bring to a boil, then lower heat to medium, let them simmer until cooked but al dente.
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Quick pickle onions: Bring to a boil the water, vinegar, sugar and salt. Chop the red onion into thin half-moon slices. When the water mix is boiling, remove from heat, add the onion, stir well and cover.
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Guacamole: Slice the avocado into cubes, mash in a bowl – add some lime juice, salt and black pepper.
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To serve: Heat up each tortilla in the oven (using the residual heat) while you roughly chop the spinach into thin slices. Optional: you can sprinkle some cheese on the tortilla and let it melt as it heats up.
Sprinkle spinach on each tortilla, add 2-3 sweet potato wedges, a tablespoon of lentils, some guacamole, pickled onions and finely chopped cilantro. Enjoy!
What are tacos?
Tacos are a traditional Mexican dish that consists of tortillas (usually corn, sometimes wheat, depending on the region) filled with anything from shredded meat, fish, seafood, frijoles (beans), a hot sauce (I recommend the Yucateco Habanero sauce, it’s great), pico de gallo, raw onions or cabbage… Each region will typically use their own local, available ingredients.
What is this taco recipe from?
This recipe comes from a remote little town, quite cold and not overly populated, called… my fridge. This recipe is not a traditional combination of ingredients, and it doesn’t intent to be. Tacos are a great way to reduce food waste. By using that back-of-the-fridge abandoned veggies, that leftover lettuce leaves, and half onion that has been standing on that self for over a week.
I have a feeling many of us find that we want to reduce food waste, and make the most out of what we buy and store in our fridge, but we need easy, accessible solutions and ideas to do that. With this recipe, I begin the #FoodWasteKitchen, a series of recipes that will aim to give you ideas on how to use what isleftover in your fridge, in smart and delicious ways.
Any other #FoodWaste ideas?
Yes! Here are some:
Crepes – You can prepare this quite easily and in no time, then fry whatever veggies lie in your fridge. You can also make them with chickpea (gram) flour – here is a recipe for that.
A bake – Here is one that we’ve made many times. You can change and mix up the ingredients you put inside, no need to follow the recipe as it is.
Quesadillas – Yes, very similar to tacos. I normally use larger wheat tortillas that you can fill with more ingredients.
A quiche – Similar to a bake, another great way to throw in whatever leftovers you might have, mix it with a little egg, milk and cheese, and enjoy!
An omelette – In Spain, potato omelette is very common, but why should you keep it to just potato? You could make it out of almost anything!
A Buddha bowl – This is a bowl filled with a wide variety of ingredients: veggies, beans, grains, any green leaves, nuts, seeds…
Gyozas – I’m starting to see a pattern here… I guess anything you can stuff or fill, is a food waste-friendly dish.
Broth – If your leftover veggies are just scraps, and you really can’t make anything out of them… The good old broth is always an option.
I hope this was helpful and gave you some ideas. My goal is to feed you more interesting ways to use ingredients at home, allowing you to feel more free and empowered in your kitchen, and hopefully relying less and less on step-by-step recipes.
If you try this recipe, please let me know how it went in the comments section.
If you share it on social media, tag me @silvia.cooks and use #SilviaCooks and #FoodWasteKitchen.
Bon profit,
Silvia
