Naked Vegan Tacos with Corn Relish and Cilantro-Lime Slaw

Do not make naked vegan tacos while naked.

Yes, I know it’d be clever. I know it’d be a fun story to tell your friends (who would then promptly decline all future dinner invitations). But if one splatter of hot oil goes awry, all amusement you had hoped to gain from the experience will promptly disintegrate (along with patches of your skin, I’m just sayin’).

Make me with clothes on, please.

Also, do not assume Naked Vegan Tacos are made specifically for naked vegans. You may certainly eat these if you are a naked vegan, but clothed vegans are also welcome to partake. Even you omnivorous folks (clothed or otherwise) can enjoy this recipe if you’re so inclined.

This is an equal opportunity blog, y’all.

So why are Naked Vegan Tacos called Naked Vegan Tacos? ‘Cause they’re not wearing their taco shells! All the lovely stuffins of a vegan taco are included, but engineered for your fork instead of your hands.

Exposed.

This quick dinner was a take on sweet potato and black bean tacos, a dish I’ve had on my to-make list forever. Just as I expected, the sweetness of the roasted sweet potatoes was fantastic with the heat and cumin in the black beans. The cilantro-lime slaw added acid and crunch. The corn relish — boasting bright corn, tomatoes, and creamy hunks of avocado — cooled things off.

This huge, cheap, flavorful meal was so satisfying; I ate it over the course of 4 days and loved every bite, even though the avocados were oxidizing (i.e. turning all brown and creepy) after the first day.

Not vegan anymore.

Since it’s full of veggies, only 451 calories per serving, and includes components to make up complete proteins, I’m also going to decree that this meal is healthy (though I’m no expert). Serve it atop your favorite grain for an even more filling dinner. Heck, you could even go crazy and serve the tacos in flippin’ taco shells. You know, if you’re that kind of person.

What’s your favorite fresh vegetable?

Naked Vegan Tacos with Corn Relish and Cilantro-Lime Slaw

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Recipe by: Adapted from Joy the Baker and Paula Deen
Yields: 4 servings

The focus of this meal is flavor. Roasted sweet potatoes sweeten, black beans with cumin bring the heat, cilantro-lime slaw adds crunch and acid, and a bright corn relish with creamy avocado and juicy tomatoes lends freshness. Filling my plate with all of these lovely bits and pieces and then spending my entire dinner creating various perfect “bites” was so satisfying — especially since it was also healthy.

Sweet Potatoes Ingredients:
2 sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into small cubes
1 tablespoon olive oil
salt and red chili flakes to taste
juice of 1 lime

Cilanto-Lime Slaw Ingredients:
2 heaping cups finely shredded cabbage
1/4 cup finely diced yellow onions
2 heaping tablespoons chopped cilantro
juice of 2 limes
salt and red chili flakes to taste

Black Beans Ingredients:
1 teaspoon olive oil
1/4 cup finely diced yellow onion
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 (15-ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed
juice of 1 lime

Corn Relish Ingredients:
2 cups cooked corn, fresh or frozen
1 avocado, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 cup finely diced red onion
1 teaspoon finely diced jalapeno (or to taste)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

Optional Extras:
Fried or poached egg (obviously this makes it un-vegan)
salsa, fat free sour cream, green onions, fresh cilantro, limes

Directions:
Make sweet potatoes: Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. In a bowl, toss sweet potato cubes with oil, salt, chili flakes, and lime juice. Spread out on a baking sheet. Roast 40-45 minutes (stirring/flipping gently a couple of times during the process) or until tender and brown. Remove the potatoes from the oven and set aside.

Make Cilanto-Lime Slaw: While the potatoes are roasting, place shredded cabbage, onions, cilantro, lime juice, salt, and chili flakes in a bowl. Toss them together and set aside to let the cabbage soften.

Make Black Beans: Heat oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat. When the oil shimmers, add the onions and cook them for a few minutes until they’re soft and translucent. Add the cumin and garlic and toast these for a few seconds until fragrant. Finally, add the beans and lime juice and cook until they’re heated through.

Make the corn relish: Mix the corn, avocado, tomatoes, jalapenos, and onion in a large bowl. Whisk together the oil, lime juice, cilantro, salt, and pepper in a separate bowl. Pour it over the corn mixture and gently toss.

Assemble: Serve your naked tacos by heaping sweet potatoes and black beans on a place and garnishing with a big spoonful of cilantro-lime slaw and corn relish. Accompany your meal with a dollop of sour cream, fresh cilantro, chopped green onions, and salsa. If you fancy some added protein and aren’t vegan, you can top with a poached or over-easy fried egg.

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Roast Chicken and Onion Jam Panini with Sweet Potato Fries

There’s been a joyous new addition to my family! She doesn’t even have a name yet, but she’s already brought so much love and happiness into our lives. And quesadillas. She’s brought a lot of those, too.

Meet my new baby!

That’s right! I have a precious new Cuisinart panini press! And I got her for free! Well, sort of. My local grocery store has been running a promotion where you get a point for every $10 you spend on groceries. You can then use points to “purchase” an array of Cuisinart appliances. My little panini press here cost 100 points, or (wince!) $1,000 worth of groceries. Okay, okay, so obtaining her was a bittersweet accomplishment. Nevertheless, I was as excited as a bunny eatin’ a banana! The cashier politely listened to me ramble about all the panini I planned to make as I scooped my new appliance up to bring her home. Since then, there’s been a whole lotta pressin’ going on!

While searching around enthusiastically for panini recipes, I came upon a lovely blog: Panini Happy. A whole blog entirely devoted to using my new favorite kitchen gadget! I got so excited paging through the blog that I planned a whole dinner around panini! On the menu was a succulent Roast Chicken and Onion Jam Panini, a side of Sweet Potato Fries with Basil Salt and Garlic Mayonnaise, and a comforting side of Oven-Baked Macaroni and Cheese.

The panini was a synergy of gorgeous materials: sourdough bread, freshly roasted chicken, Gruyère, fresh thyme, garlic mayonnaise, and (drum roll please) ONION JAM. Panini Happy is where I met this Condiment of Condiments. Oh man, y’all, this stuff is good. Sweet caramelized onion, roasted garlic, reduced balsamic vinegar . . . it’s the perfect, hearty, luscious spread to drench your panini in. And drench we did!

Onion Jam

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Recipe by: Panini Happy
Yields: ~3/4 cup of onion jam

Ingredients:
3 large sweet onions
2 heads garlic, roasted*
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons brown sugar
4 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

Directions:
Squeeze roasted garlic cloves unto a small plate. Set aside. Cut onions in half lengthwise; peel. Cut off ends; cut lengthwise into 1/4-inch thick pieces.

Coat a 13″ skillet with cooking spray, and set over medium heat. Add onions, and cover. Cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and translucent, about 15 minutes.

Add sugars; re-cover. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are golden, 20 – 30 minutes.

Add 1/4 cup water and stir. Cover and cook until dark brown, 20 -30 minutes.

Add balsamic vinegar, roasted garlic cloves, and another 1/4 cup water. Continue cooking until liquid has been absorbed, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a bowl to cool. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
*See Elise’s helpful guide to roasting garlic on Simply Recipes

This easy roasted chicken breast was a new recipe for me, which I now adore. It’s simpler than roasting a full bird, but still produces juicy meat with a nice crispy skin. Easy as pie, especially for chicken you’re about to slice up onto a sandwich. Alternatively, you could pick up a rotisserie chicken at the grocer and slice some meat off the already-prepared bird for your panini. But then you don’t get to pull this out of the oven:

All that was left once my onion jam was prepared and my chicken had been roasted was to assemble my panini.

Roast Chicken and Onion Jam Panini

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Recipe by: Panini Happy, adapted

Ingredients:
Onion jam (see recipe above)
Roasted chicken (see recipe above), carved
Gruyère cheese, sliced
fresh thyme to taste
garlic mayonnaise (see recipe below, with sweet potato fries)
olive oil

Assembling the Panini:

1. Prepare onion jam (can be completed in advance).
2. Prepare roast chicken (can be completed in advance).
3. Preheat closed panini press to medium.
4. Brush one side of a slice of sourdough with olive oil and placed it on a preheated panini press. Assemble materials on top: slather on garlic mayonnaise, layer slices of cheese, slices of roasted chicken, a sprinkle of thyme, and heaping spoonfuls of onion jam. Place second slice of oiled bread on top, oil side up.
5. Using gentle pressure, press sandwich and hold for about 3 minutes, or until bread is toasted with grill marks and ingredients are heated through. Slice in half and enjoy immediately.

Finding the perfect side items to accompany the perfect panini was quite a task. The comforting, creamy side items I’d been craving throughout the cold, rainy weeks of November didn’t seem to “fit” next to my hip panini, but typical light sandwich fare didn’t appeal to me. So I compromised and made both! I baked a pan of my beloved Oven-Baked Macaroni and Cheese, but also crisped up some delicious (and more appropriate) sweet potato fries. Giada DiLaurentis’s sweet potato fries are my favorite; they’re sprinkled with fresh basil and kosher salt, and dipped in a tangy garlic mayonnaise (the same garlic mayonnaise, by the way, that I slathered on my sandwich). I’ve loved these sweet potato fries since I took my very first bite of them months ago. I cut mine thick, but you can slice them thinner for a crispier fry.

Sweet Potato Fries with Basil Salt and Garlic Mayonnaise

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Recipe by: Giada DiLaurentis
Yield: 4 to 6 servings

Ingredients:
5 sweet potatoes, cut into about 1 by 5-inch “fries”*
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil leaves
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3/4 cup mayonnaise
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon lemon juice
*Note: I usually make this recipe in batches of 1-2 potatoes at a time, and it’s perfect for 1-2 people. I keep the garlic mayonnaise recipe the same and have extra throughout the week for a sandwich spread.

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Place the sweet potato “fries” on a foil-lined baking sheet and toss with the olive oil. Bake until golden, about 45 minutes. Meanwhile combine the basil, salt, and pepper in a small bowl. In another small bowl combine the mayonnaise, garlic, and lemon juice, and stir to combine. When the sweet potato fries come out of the oven, sprinkle with the basil salt. Serve with the garlic mayonnaise alongside for dipping.

Even if you don’t have your own panini press, I hope you’ll get out a regular ol’ skillet and grill up some cheesy, onion jammy sandwiches — and don’t forget the delicious sides! Oh, and one last thing . . . what do you think I should name my new gadget?

Roasted garlic and delicious finished onion jam.



Sweet potato fries cooking and panini grilling!



Enjoy!

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