Western Morning News (Saturday)
Smoky lentil and broccoli stem tacos
INGREDIENTS:
(Serves 4)
2tbsp olive oil; ½ red onion, thinly sliced; 1 large broccoli stem, grated; 1 x 400g tin green lentils, drained and rinsed; 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped; 4 sundried tomatoes, roughly chopped; 1tbsp tomato puree; 1tbsp soy sauce or tamari; 1tsp smoked paprika; 1tsp ground cumin; 1tbsp nutritional yeast; ¼tsp black pepper
For the crisp cucumber salsa
2 baby cucumbers, quartered lengthways, then thinly sliced; ½ red onion, finely chopped; Zest and juice of 1 lime; 2tbsp freshly chopped mint; 2tbsp freshly chopped coriander; ½ fresh red or green chilli, seeded, finely chopped; generous pinch of salt; ¼tsp black pepper
To serve
8-12 corn or flour tortillas, warmed; freshly chopped coriander and basil; lime wedge
METHOD:
1. Heat the oil in a large frying pan over medium heat and cook the onion for three to five minutes, stirring occasionally, until soft. Add the grated broccoli stem, lentils, garlic and sundried tomatoes, and cook for two to three minutes, stirring occasionally.
2. Add all the remaining ingredients and cook for about three minutes, stirring frequently,
until the mixture thickens and begins to stick to the pan. Stir in one to two tablespoons of water for the last minute of cooking. Remove from the heat and cover with a lid while you warm the tortillas.
3. Make the cucumber salsa: in a mixing bowl, combine the cucumbers, red onion, lime juice and zest, mint, coriander and chilli. Season with salt and black pepper and leave for about 10 minutes before serving. This will allow the flavours to marinate and will also remove some of the liquid from the cucumber, providing a less watery crunch.
4. To serve, spoon the lentil and broccoli stem mixture onto warm tortillas and top with cucumber salsa, fresh coriander and basil, with lime wedges on the side.