One of the perks of being Heat’s Food Editor is that I occasionally get sent free stuff. I can receive anything from fish finger crown cakes (literally a crown made out of fish fingers but the fish fingers are actually cakes) to boxes of wine in the shape of Camper Vans. Recently however I haven’t been receiving lovely cakes and boxes of wine but giant crates of water (sigh). Thanks to stupid coconut water, I now get sent birch water, cactus water, aloe vera water, watermelon water and any other pretentious idiot water that’s coming out, all of which taste like bodily fluids. What’s wrong with regular tap water for god sake? I bet the queen drinks it!… Actually, she almost certainly doesn’t.
Anyway, in between all of my recent water deliveries I received a rather exciting delivery from my favourite restaurant, Wahacca. To celebrate ‘The Year Of The Taco’ they’ve just launched their first ever taco kits, WHAT TOOK THEM SO LONG?! Armed with a big bag of soft tacos, limes, chillies and a variety of salsa and marinades, I was as happy as a tick on a fat dog. We ate nothing but tacos for a week so you’ll be surprised to hear that the week after I decided to make MORE tacos. I literally had tacos coming out of my ears (not literally). Having eaten all of the Wahacca kits though and having about 20p in my purse, I thought I’d attempt to make my own version of Wahacca’s tomato and smoky chipotle tacos. This is what happened…
Soft chipotle tacos
Serves 6 / Hands on time 40 mins / Total time 50 minutes / V
Marinade
1 small white onion, chopped
3 gloves of garlic, crushed
Handful sun-dried tomatoes (I use the Merchant Gourmet)
½ tsp cumin
½ tsp smoked paprika
2 tbs vegetarian red wine
1 tsp chipotle paste (add too if you like it really hot)
Juice of a lime
1 tsp sugar
1 tbs tomato Puree
1 can chopped tomatoes
1 tsp rapeseed oil
Filling
1 red pepper, sliced
1 green pepper, sliced
1 orange pepper, sliced
1 can of sweet corn, drained
1 small red onion, sliced
300g frozen Quorn
Soft taco shells (3 per person)
Guacamole
2 avocados
½ a lime
2 garlic cloves crushed
Extra virgin olive oil
Garnish
Sour cream or cottage cheese
Fresh salsa (optional)
Jalapeños (optional)
Method
1. To make the marinade, roughly chop the onion and garlic and put in a large heavy bottomed pot with a tsp of sunflower oil on a medium heat. Cook for about 10 minutes until soft.
2. Add the chipotle paste, cumin, smoked paprika and give it a good mix. Cook for a further minute. Add the tinned tomatoes, tomato puree, red wine, sun-dried tomatoes, juice of a lime and the sugar. Give it a good stir and cook on a medium heat for 10 minutes.
3. Once cooked, take off the heat and blend with a hand blender or blitz in a food processor. Return the marinade to the pot.
4. Roughly chop the red onion and all of the peppers and add them to the marinade. Add the quorn and the sweetcorn and give it all a good mix together. Add a 3rd of a mug of water, give it another stir and bring to the boil. Once boiling turn the heat down low and cook for 10 minutes with the lid on a jar.
5. After 10 minutes add another 3rd of a mug of water, give the mixture a stir and cover for a further 10 minutes.
6. Meanwhile make the guacamole (or use shop bought). Scoop out 2 avocados into a bowl and squeeze over half a lime. Add the crushed garlic cloves, season with salt and pepper and drizzle with a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil. Shmoosh it all with a folk and put to one side. Slice the other half of the lime into quarters and put to one side. Once your chipotle peppers are cooked take off the heat and pop the lid on.
7. Cook the soft tacos in a dry frying pan on a high heat for 10 seconds each side. If you’re making a big batch, stack the tacos, wrap them in foil and pop them in a preheated oven at 180°C/160°C fan/ 350°F/gas mark 4 for 5 minutes.
8. When the soft taco shells are warm you can actually mould them into traditional taco shape by bringing the two sides together and holding it there for around 30 seconds (I often stick mine in-betweens a few cans or jars but you don’t have to do this).
9. Fill each taco with a large spoonful of the chipotle peppers and top with guacamole, sour cream, fresh salsa and couple of jalapeños. Serve with a lime wedge. If you’re not feeding 6 people (as I rarely do) take the leftovers to work, they make an excellent lunch.
If you’ve had a go at making any of my recipes, I’d love to hear from you. Follow me now @corrieheale and tag your recipe pictures using #corriesrabbitfood.
V– Vegetarian
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