Makes 8 tacos
Total time: 30 minutes || Active time: 30 minutes
I’ve been away from home for most of the winter, but the instant I walk through the door, still in an airplane funk, all I want to do is cook. My boyfriend looks at me like I have a carrot growing out of my forehead, and I’m like “I wish! I love carrots.”
Jet-lagged or not, this time of year is always so muddled and I never quite know what I’m craving. The winter makes my taste buds so restless. Let’s see…curry? Or Mexican? Or hippy? Oh, what the hell, let’s do all three. You could even call these YOLO Tacos (if you wanted to be the most annoying person in the world.)
The tofu is simply sliced into slabs, soaked in a little puddle or curry powder, olive oil and soy, then grilled to high heaven. (You can also broil.)
The beans are equally as simple: sauteed onions and an entire field of garlic (ok, 4 cloves), some fresh tomato, cilantro. Done!
And the Kale Slaw is my favorite hippy vegan recipe, and really not much more difficult than making guacamole. It’s sliced into shreds, and doused in a creamy garlicky dressing of avocado, tahini, and red wine vinegar. So easy! Even though there are a few components, the entire recipe should only take 30 minutes or so.
Now that I’m home and relaxed, I hope to be updating a little bit more regularly. Thanks for sticking around, everyone, and I hope you’re having a delicious (if restless) winter!
Notes
~I was feeling very hippy vegan, and so I pulled out the old school Bragg’s Liquid Aminos for the tofu. You can use soy sauce or gluten-free tamari, too. If it needs more salt, just sprinkle some on after the tofu is cooked.
~To prepare the kale, pull the leaves from the stems. Roll up a few leaves at a time (into a cigar shape) and slice widthwise to make 1/4 inch strips. That is what “chiffonade” means! I used purple kale because PURPLE! But you can use whatever kind is available. About 1/2 of my bunch equaled the 6 cups needed for this recipe.
Ingredients
1 14 oz package extra firm tofu
3 tablespoons Bragg’s Liquid Aminos (or soy sauce or tamari)
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons curry powderFor the pintos:
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 small onion, thinly sliced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium tomato, chopped
Pinch red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 15 oz can pinto beans, rinsed and drained (or 1 1/2 cups cooked)
3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
For the kale slaw:
6 cups shredded kale (stems removed, chiffonade – see note)
Dressing for slaw:
2 cloves garlic
1/2 an avocado
2 tablespoons tahini
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar (or lime)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup water (plus more to thin)
To serve:
Remaining 1/2 of avocado, diced small
8 corn tortillas
Directions
Preheat grill over medium high heat, or preheat broiler. Slice tofu into 8 equal slabs, widthwise.On a rimmed dinner plate, use a fork to mix together Bragg’s, olive oil and curry powder.
To grill, spray the hot grill pan with cooking spray. Dredge each slab of tofu into the curry mixture on both sides, then place on the grill. Let cook for about 7 minutes each side, or until grill marks appear.
For broiling, place on a lightly greased baking sheet about 3 inches from the broiler. Broil each side about 5 minutes, keeping a close eye so that they don’t burn.
When ready to serve, slice the tofu slabs into four strips lengthwise.
Make the beans:
Preheat a large pan over medium-high heat. Saute onion in oil with a pinch of salt, until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and saute 30 seconds more. Add the chopped tomato, red pepper flakes and salt. Cook until tomato is broken down and releasing juice, about 3 minutes.
Add the beans and heat through. Mix in the cilantro, and turn the heat off. Keep covered until ready to serve.
Make the Kale Slaw:
In a blender, pulse the garlic to get it a bit chopped up. Add the remaining ingredients, and blend until smooth. Add extra water as needed in order to get it to a thick but pourable consistency, like a thick milkshake.
Place the shredded kale in a bowl and add the dressing, using a rubber spatula to scrape the blender and get everything out.
Use your hands to massage the dressing into the kale for about 30 seconds. Taste for salt and seasoning.
To assemble:
Warm the tortillas (I wrap mine in paper towels and microwave for 30 seconds.) Place a bit of kale, a scoop of beans and a few strips of tofu in each taco. Add a little chopped avocado, and eat up!
Oh my goodness! This recipe ROCKS! My husband said it’s the best dish I’ve ever made. Thank you, thank you, thank you! I’ve been referring all my friends to this blog and your cookbooks. I don’t think I’ve ever made a “bad” meal when I use your recipes. You are AWESOME! Thanks for sharing your talent!
My picky kids loved the kale slaw! The garlic gave it a nice kick
What could replace the avocado here? (I’m allergic.)
I made this for dinner last night and it was delicious. I didn’t use the tortillas, but otherwise followed the recipe. Thanks for sharing!
I tried this recipe last week, I followed the ingredients but with different proportions based on what I had. This is my new go to dinner, SO easy, and restaurant quality! I’ve had horrible vegan food at several restaurants and this recipe was so much better than anything I’ve ever had. I can’t wait to try your other recipes! I’m hooked.
amazing amazing amazing
Greetings from Ecuador. I love your recipes! I made these tacos when I was in USA, and i fell in love with them. Now back to my country I made them for my mom who isn’t vegan and she loved as well. You are awesome!
Made this for friends last night – stuck exactly to the recipe – and everyone LOVED it! Each component is delicious on its own and perfect together in a taco. I would warn that you must love garlic…or cut a clove or two out of the beans.
Just wanted to say I made these for my family, and man were they delish! Not only do they taste good, but they have a great presentation. They have great flavor, and even just one taco was enough to satisfy my growling stomach, though I wanted more. I am currently looking to try another recipe of yours
This was incredible! My husband and I are trying to eat more plant-based meals, but our three teen boys still protest for meat and rarely like the vegan/vegetarian dishes I make. But when I made this dish for my husband and oldest son tonight, they both gave a “two thumbs up” and a “really really good!” (husband adding that I need to make it every week … lol!) I only had bagged kale, so the slaw was more like a salad … and had to use white wine vinegar instead of red, so next time I’ll “fix” those two items and see if they still like it! I also couldn’t grill it … the tofu was too crumbly, so broiled instead. Thanks for sharing!
Making tonight! but all i have is black beans, will that do? also no tahini. and nothing to sub for it. will it be ok without?? nervous cook here 😉
Made these tonight and they were soooo yummy! I had to stop myself from eating the whole batch. I ended up having to sub a different dressing for the slaw because I didn’t have tahini but the components worked so well together anyway. Even though I’m no longer vegan, you are still my go-to recipe author. Thanks for yet another home run!