Taco Salad Cups
I don’t really need an excuse to eat tacos! I absolutely love them! And since becoming a vegetarian I am always searching for new and inspiring recipes to make. These mini taco salad cups are the perfect and quick way to have tacos in a new and fun way.
This recipe is a very basic recipe that can serve as a blank canvas to whichever ingredient you wish to add to your bowls. Let your imagination run free! These are filled with refried black beans, tomato salsa, lamb’s lettuce, avocado salsa and feta cheese. You can certainly make them more filling if you wish by simply adding cooked quinoa or brown rice.
Also, the mini taco salad cups serve as a perfect snack for entertaining and kids will love them too! Hot sauce will make these taco salad cups even more delicious, so splash on that hot sauce.
For a vegan version you can substitute the feta and drizzle some of this cilantro-lime cashew cream recipe from my friend Sherrie from With Food+Love.
Enjoy!
Ingredients
- 4 small corn tortillas (you can also substitute with flour tortillas)
- Olive oil for coating the tortillas
- 1 small can of black beans (pinto or Borlotti beans are also great)
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 1 garlic clove, thinly sliced
- 1 tsp of cumin
- 1 lime
- 2 tomatoes
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp cilantro (coriander)
- 1 avocado finely diced
- 1 tbsp of olive oil
- 1/2 chili pepper (freeze the chili pepper to ease the grating)
- 2 cups of lamb’s lettuce (if lamb’s lettuce is not available you can substitute with chopped romaine lettuce)
- Feta cheese, queso fresco or your favorite cheese (if vegan omit this part and drizzle for example a lime-cilantro cashew cream)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven at 375 F (190 C). In the meantime drizzle a bit of olive oil to each side of the tortilla and place it in the back of a cupcake pan, utilizing the spaces in between to form a nest. If your tortillas are not pliable, you can flash grill them on an open fire or a pan until soft. Once the oven is hot, place the tortillas for 10-15 minutes or until golden and crispy. Keep in mind that they will crisp up upon cooling.
- Prepare the refried beans by adding the onion and garlic to a pan reheated with a drizzle of olive oil on medium flame. Once the onions and garlic are soft, add the can of beans and stir. When the water from the beans has evaporated, you can add the cumin, salt and pepper to taste. At this point roughly mash the bean mix with a potato masher or simply the back of a spoon until desired consistency. Squeeze the juice of the 1/2 lime. Set aside.
- For the tomato salsa simply grate the two tomatoes on the fine side of a box grater until you have reached the skin of the tomatoes. The mix will be a bit runny, but that is what makes it special. Add the two tbsp olive oil, cilantro and season with salt and pepper.
- Make the avocado salsa by mixing the avocado,1 tbsp olive oil, lime juice, salt and pepper and grate the chili pepper on top of the mix. This trick I learned it from Jamie Oliver and have been using it ever since because it is the quickest way to add a spicy flair to any dish without almost any effort. Alternatively, you can finely dice the chili pepper.
- Finally, prepare the cups for assembly by placing the refried beans first, followed by the lamb’s lettuce, the avocado salsa and a drizzle the tomato salsa. Garnish with Feta cheese or your favorite cheese. You can also add some chopped cilantro (coriander), green onions and extra chili pepper. For the vegan garnish of the lime-cilantro cashew cream simply follow the above link.
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