Рецепт Vegan Taquitos
Vegan Taquitos
This is the last week of pre-school for Noodle Nose and today my sweet baby will graduate from one. I have mixed feelings about a graduation from pre-school. I get it. I just don't get it.
Either way I'm afraid I will be a blubbering mess tonight because the thought of my angel child entering kindergarten next year is a little overwhelming. And I'm not overly neurotic or overprotective but kindergarten? With a cafeteria? And a library? And.... choke.... bus rides? Whoa, slow down. No. Not bus rides. Not ready for that one just yet.
So for Noodle's special last week, I am letting him select the nightly dinner menu. Macaroni and cheese anyone?? But not tonight... tonight he wanted my little vegan taquitos because they are small and delicious and eating with hands is kind of mandatory and that's just fun.
It is a bit of a cheater meal because it's more 'assembly' than 'cooking', but either way they are delicious and they make a fantastic quick lunch, dinner or snack. And if you have a well stocked vegan fridge and pantry, you can probably make these without even going to the grocery.
Yield: 8 taquitos (16 or 24 pieces depending on your cut size)
Need:
- 8 medium flour tortillas
- 1 pkg vegan 'chicken' pieces, chopped medium (I used Trader Joe's Chicken-less Strips. You could also make your own)
- 1 pkg Daiya mozzarella style shreds
- 2 teaspoons tapatio
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- Olive oil for baking
- For the guacamole:
- 2 medium avocados
- 2 Tablespoons Vegenaise
- 2 cloves garlic, finely diced or pressed through a garlic press
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
Do:
Preheat oven to 450.
In a medium bowl combine chopped chicken-less shreds and Daiya mozzarella. Using a fork or spoon, stir to combine evenly.
On top of your chicken-less/Daiya combination, evenly sprinkle tapatio, cumin, salt and pepper. Stir/toss again, ensuring your seasoning is getting evenly distributed throughout your mix.
Now it's time to roll your taquitos:
With a flour tortilla in front of you, spread an even thin layer of your chicken-less combination in the center of your tortilla.
Fold tortilla end closest to you over top and squeeze/press/roll your filling until it is very tight inside. As you do this you will have filling coming out the side. Gently press it back in to both sides and continue until you have a tight little package.
Once you are satisfied with the 'compactness' of your filling in the tortilla, roll it up the rest of the way and place seam down on a baking sheet.
Continue for remaining tortillas and filling. Place them fairly close to one another on the baking sheet, to prevent any de-rolling.
Drizzle with olive oil and give them a gentle roll, to ensure even coverage across all sides of your taquitos. Place them back snug together if you need to.
Note: the more filling you put in your tortilla the larger your taquitos will be. It's completely up to you, but when I was making them I wanted to emulate the meat stuffed factory style taquitos that Noodle Nose saw at Costco. He wanted them and I told him I would make better ones at home. They were.
Put in oven and bake for about 10 minutes. At the 10 minute mark remove pan and roll the taquitos to the opposite side. Return to oven and bake for another 10 minutes. Remove from oven again, turn to one of the two unbaked sides and bake for 8 minutes. At the 8 minute mark, remove pan and flip taquitos to the final unbaked side and bake for a final 8 minutes.
The goal is to get the taquitos crispy and slightly toasty brown on all four 'sidess, like the fried factory version.
Remove from oven, let cool for about 5 minutes before slicing.
While your taquitos are baking, prepare your guacamole:
Slice both avocados vertically down the middle. Holding one side in each hand, give them a little twist in opposite directions to reveal the meat. Remove pit by whacking a knife into it and twisting gently.
Slice avocado meat in about 1/4 inch vertical slices, then slice horizontally the same, creating little cubes. Scoop cubes out into a smallish bowl using a spoon.
Add veganaise, garlic, salt and pepeper and mash/stir together with a fork. Add more or less veganaise as you so choose.
Set aside until your taquitos are ready to plate.
Serve:
Slice each taquito in half or thirds, arrange on a plate with a good amount of your delicious guacamole in a low dish and off you go.
These make a fantastic appetizer or light dinner or lunch. Perfect for kids or grown up kids alike. They were a huge hit with us; I hope this simple meal will be a huge hit with your fam too.
Enjoy!
Seitan