Raw Vegan Chorizo Lettuce Tacos

Posted on May 31, 2015 by Susanna Liang in Main Dish

Serves

Level

Mod

Ingredients

Ingreds.

Total

1hr

Serves

Level

Mod

Ingredients

Ingreds.

Total

1hr

If you were setting out to make a raw vegan meal of some sort, chorizo tacos might seem to be just about the least likely candidate you could find, aside maybe from haggis. But these tacos go beyond any mere imitation of meat! These yummy nummies are overflowing with rich, spicy flavor which stands on its own feet. It’s not your grandmother’s chorizo!

Lettuce makes for a surprisingly awesome shell for tacos. Often used in South Asian cuisine for wraps, it’s an interesting sort of fusion to see them here in chorizo tacos. And speaking of that chorizo, it’s amazing what you can do with nuts and some spices!

Ingredients

Tacos

7 romaine lettuce (or 3-4 large romaine lettuce leaves)

Vegan chorizo

1/3 cup sunflower seeds (pre-soaked)
1/4 cup brazil nuts
2 Tbsp walnuts
5 tomatoes (sun-dried, soaked in olive oil)
1 Tbsp onion (red, diced)
1 Tbsp yeast
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp virgin olive oil
1 garlic clove
1/2 tsp oregano (dried )
1/4 tsp himalayan sea salt
1/4 tsp ground cumin
red pepper flakes (pinch)
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

Salsa

1 tomato (dried)
1 Tbsp onion (red, diced)
1 tsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp virgin olive oil
himalayan sea salt (sprinkle)
ground black pepper (sprinkle)

Topping

1 avocado (sliced)
salt (to taste)
pepper (to taste)
lemon juice (a few drizzle, optional)

Servings:

Units:

Directions

Prep

1 hr

Total

1 hr

To Make the Chorizo

Soak the sunflower seeds in warm water for about half an hour. During this time, get the other ingredients ready. Peel the garlic and dice the onions. Also, wash the romaine lettuce leaves well so that there’s no dirt on it.
Add everything for the vegan chorizo into the blender, including the soaked sunflower seeds, as well as Brazil nuts, walnuts, sun-dried tomatoes, diced onion, nutritional yeast, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, extra virgin olive oil, garlic clove, dried oregano, salt, cumin, red pepper flakes and cayenne pepper. Blend until most of it is smooth, you don’t have to have it completely smooth. Sometimes it’s nice to have some crunch. You may like to keep it totally smooth, or not smooth at all. This is completely up to you! When it’s done, spoon the chorizo into a small bowl and set it aside.

To make the Salsa

Peel the onion and wash the tomato, then dice both into small cubes and put it in a bowl. Add the lemon juice, extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper into that bowl and give it a good stir to mix everything in. Set that aside as well.

To make the Tacos

Chop the avocado in half, then remove the seed. Use a spoon to scoop the flesh out and chop it sideways into small slices. Have the romaine lettuce leaf ready. If you’re using a very large leaf, you will need to cut it sideways in half or three, be sure that you cut off the very hard stems. Spoon some chorizo, salsa, two slices of avocado in the center of the lettuce leaf. Finally, sprinkle a little salt and pepper to taste, and a bit of lemon juice on the avocado if desired.