These vegan tacos use Beyond Meat crumbles and a can of black beans, bound together with marinara rather than a taco seasoning packet — which sounds odd and is the reason they taste rich instead of dusty. Everything happens in one skillet: caramelize the onion, add the garlic, then the beans, then the crumbles, then the sauce. Pile onto corn tortillas with shredded cabbage for crunch and sliced avocado, and a little spicy mayo if you want it.
The fish is baked, not fried, and seasoned with three things — cumin, salt and pepper. Tilapia because it’s mild enough that the kids don’t argue about it.
The sauce is sriracha mayo loosened with sour cream, which takes the heat down to something a seven-year-old will eat while still tasting like it belongs on a taco.
Toast the tortillas right before you serve, not in advance. Then everything goes on the table and everyone builds their own, which is the only reason this works as a family dinner.
Partially inspired by @natashaskitchen
The rub on this chicken has cocoa powder and cinnamon in it alongside the chili powder, which is what makes it taste the way it does — deep and slightly bitter rather than simply hot. Coconut sugar and balsamic in the marinade are what let it blacken properly on the grill. The sauce is not really butter: melted non-dairy spread with minced cilantro, finely chopped red onion and lime juice, poured over the thighs right before serving so it stays loose.
Recipe inspired by “Spiced Grilled Chicken with Cilantro Lime Butter” from Taste of Home
The marinara is the part people raise an eyebrow at, and it’s the part that makes these work. A few spoonfuls in with the taco seasoning gives the meat something to hold onto so it isn’t dry and crumbly in the shell.
Onions first until soft, then the meat and the seasoning and the sauce together. Three steps, one pan, about fifteen minutes.
Turkey, chicken or beef — whichever is in the fridge. This is a Tuesday recipe, not a project.
Tres leches cake is a sponge cake soaked in three milks — whole milk, sweetened condensed and evaporated — and it is the most forgiving celebration cake I know, because the soaking is the whole point. The cake is sweetened with coconut sugar rather than white, and it takes five eggs, which is what gives it enough structure to drink all that liquid without collapsing. Pierce it all over with a fork the moment it comes out of the oven, then let it cool before the milks go on.
This corn salad is our lighter take on Mexican street corn — the same sweet-charred corn and lime, but the dressing is plain yogurt whisked with honey, paprika and cumin instead of mayonnaise. Sauté the corn until it actually starts to brown before anything else goes in; that browning is where the flavor comes from, and skipping it leaves you with a bean salad. Black beans, red pepper, onion and a lot of fresh cilantro round it out. Dress it right before serving.
Inspired by @liveeatlearn
Skirt steak in a lime, garlic and cilantro marinade for at least an hour, then seared and sliced thin. The peppers and onions cook in a second pan so nothing steams — onions first, since they take longer.
Let the steak rest a few minutes before you slice it. Skirt is thin and it loses everything onto the board if you go at it straight out of the pan. Then cut across the grain, never along it.