Vegan Pumpkin taco
Vegan pumpkin tacos served with avocado, salsa and cilantro
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 20 minutes
Serves: 2-3 servings (meal), 4-6 servings (appetizer)
Ingredients:
Taco Filling:
2 cups of pumpkin, cut into 1 inch squares. (I used Jack o’ lantern, but you can use sugar pie or other pumpkin/squashes as well)
1 small onion, diced
1 black garlic
1/3-1/2 cup of water (depending on what your food processor needs to blend the garlic)
1 tsp of coarse salt (less if you’re using fine salt)
1 tsp of toasted cumin seeds
8-10 taco shells (depending on the size of your taco shell)
2 tbsp of avocado oil
Additional Taco Toppings:
Diced cilantro (about 1/2 cup)
Salsa (to serve and as topping))
Ripe avocados (1-2 medium)
Cooking Tools:
Blender / food processor
Medium sized pot
Directions :
Blend the garlic, salt, and water together to make a liquid sauce.
Heat the avocado oil in the pot, and add in the onion.
Brown the onion, then add in the cumin seeds and garlic liquid, before adding the pumpkin in.
Turn the heat down to medium / low and let the pumpkin cook (with no lid) for 15-20 minutes till the pumpkin has softened (but still retains its shape) and the liquid has cooked off, Stir occasionally so it doesn’t stick to the pot.
Scoop into taco shells, top with salsa, sliced avocado, cilantro and enjoy!
Cooking Tip:
Low and slow is the key to making the pumpkin filling flavors to come together.
Use a fork to poke at the pumpkin to check for doneness (you may prefer yours to be softer / harder)
Stay healthy with Annie:
Pumpkin is one of my favorite foods for a good chunk of the year! Rich in antioxidant Vitamin A (good for your eyes), has great warming properties and helps digestion (TCM), and depending on the variety you get, can be stored from the fall all the way til next spring/summer.
I used jack o’ lantern pumpkin in my recipe because I didn’t want to throw out my pumpkin and let it go to waste post-Halloween, but regardless of the type of pumpkin you decide to use, I highly recommend buying organic if possible, and / or purchase your pumpkin from a local farmers market where you can ask more about the planting conditions and soil quality. (I picked mine up from a local organic farm)
One thing to note about pumpkin is that the plant can be used to clean up contaminated soil, as pumpkin can be quite effective in absorbing excess heavy metals from the soil. This could result in ingesting these contaminants, turning a wonderfully healthy food into another health risk. On the bright side, this gives us a good excuse to step outside the grocery store and meet your local farmers as you pick up some beautifully unique pumpkins and squashes for the upcoming winter season!
Nutritious and Delicious:
Black garlic (fermented garlic) is one of my favorite ways to add a nice touch of umami to vegan recipes, especially ones where I want to add more complexity to the flavor. It’s a fermented food that’s very high in anti-oxidents, and I came across several papers that talked about its anti-obesity and anti-inflammatory properties as well. The one I use is from Polar, and has a very sweet umami flavor to it. Stay tuned for more vegan black garlic recipes - I’m still having fun experimenting with it!