For the most recent Taco Tuesday, I made vegan tacos filled with the Jackfruit Company's tex-mex jackfruit, garnished with vegetables, fresh herbs, an avocado cream and fresh lime. Hole cow! They were lip smacking good.
The best news is that jackfruit, also known as "pulled pork for vegetarians," only has 50 calories and 1g of fat per serving! Can't beat that. Jackfruit's meaty texture has become a common meat replacement that is low in calories and free from soy, gluten, and cholesterol. You will fool any meat lover with the taste!
Jackfruit is native to south and southeast Asia and is the world's largest tree-borne fruit with some weighing up to 100 pounds! It has often been hailed as the miracle crop because of its size and resistance to drought that could save millions from starvation. If that is the case, I really hope to see this fruit rise in popularity. It is a cross between a pineapple, apple, mango, and banana, but when it's seasoned you don't taste those fruity flavors at all.
Here is a very simple, quick (no more than 30 minutes), and flavorful recipe that you can try any night of the week. It also shouldn't cost you more than $10 - $15, which is definitely a bonus!
Ingredients:
2-4 white, whole wheat, or corn tortillas
Olive oil or coconut oil cooking spray
1 package Jackfruit (can be bought in many grocery stores)
1 tomato, diced
1/2 onion, diced
1 green pepper, julienned
5 leaves of basil, chopped
Handful of chopped cilantro
1 tablespoon vegan sour cream (optional)
1 fresh lime, squeezed
salt and pepper to taste
Avocado Cilantro Cream
1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
1 ripe avocado
1 freshly squeezed lime
1 teaspoon Follow Your Heart Vegenaise
Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions:
1.To make the avocado cilantro cream, simply place all of the ingredients in a food processor or even a small ninja will do (which is what I currently have) and blend until creamy. You may need to add 2 tablespoons cold water to the mixture.
2. In a large deep frying pan or a griddle, generously cover with cooking spray. Over medium heat, lightly cook the green pepper for 3 - 5 minutes, until some sides brown.
3. In same pan or griddle, cook entire package of jackfruit for just a few minutes until warm. Set aside.
3. Respray the frying pan or griddle with cooking spray and cook 1 tortilla at a time to gently brown and crisp.
4. Spoon jackfruit with cooked green pepper slices, tomato, basil, and onion to your desired amounts on to warm tortilla. Add a dollop of the avocado cilantro cream and a dollop of vegan sour cream and squeeze 1/2 fresh lime over tortilla.
Enjoy!
Nutrition Facts (based off of white tortilla and no vegan sour cream)
Servings 2
Amount Per Serving
Calories 239
Total Fat 12 g
Saturated Fat 1 g
Cholesterol 0 mg
Sodium 664 mg
Total Carbohydrate 30 g
Dietary Fiber 15 g
Sugars 7 g
Protein 6 g