SMOKED PECAN NUT TACOS IN ROMAINE LEAVES

INGREDIENTS:

Makes: 6 individual tacos
    Romaine leaf taco shells:
      • One head of romaine lettuce
        Smoked pecan nut filling:
          • 150g of pecan nut halves
          • 50g of sun-dried tomatoes
          • 50g of pitted mixed olives
          • 1/2 a teaspoon pink himalayan salt
          • 2 teaspoons of smoked paprika
          • 1 teaspoon of garlic powder or 1 clove of fresh garlic (crushed)
          • 1cm chunk of fresh ginger (grated)
            Tomato and red pepper salsa:
              • 1 tomato
              • 1 red pepper
              • 1cm chunk fresh ginger (peeled and grated)
              • 1/2 a red onion
              • small handful of fresh basil
              • 50ml of apple cider vinegar
              • 50ml of tamari or liquid aminos
              • 50ml cold pressed rapeseed or olive oil
            Creamy cashew cheese:
              • 100g soaked cashew nuts
              • 30ml apple cider vinegar
              • 60g onutritional yeast
              • 1/2 a teaspoon pink himalayan salt
              • half a cup of water
              • juice of 1/2 a lemon
            Diced avocado:
              • 1/4 of an avocado diced, per taco
            To serve your tacos:
              • a sprinkle of nutritional yeast and mixed seeds

            METHOD:

            The Romaine taco shell
            • Peel the individual leaves from your head of Romaine, snapping them off at the bottom. Give them a
              rinse with cold water and lay them on your work surface
            • Use your Romaine lettuce leaf as your taco shell
            • Push firmly down on the stem to crack it, so that your leaf will lay flat
            Smoked pecan nut filling:
            • In your food processor or blender, blitz up your pecans until they are ground leaving it slightly chunky
            • Add your sun-dried tomatoes, olives, salt, paprika, garlic and grated ginger
            • Blend this up again in your food processor/blender until it starts to form a paste. You don’t want to blend this too much, as it is great to keep it a little chunky and give your tacos a bit more texture and bite
            • Add in some water if its needed (you may not need it all, it is just for consistency and to help it blend)
            Tomato and red pepper salsa:
            • Very finely chop your ginger, red onion and basil and add together into a mixing bowl
            • With a slightly larger dice, (about 0.5mm square) dice your tomato and red pepper and add this into the bowl with the rest of your ingredients
            • Add your apple cider vinegar, tamari and oil to your bowl of ingredients and mix well. Marinade for 3-4 hours
            • This salsa will last up to two weeks in the fridge so is a great thing to have predone and can be used for more other things, just make sure its fully covered with the liquid if you want to keep it for longer
            Creamy cashew nut cheese:
            • Soak your cashew nuts in water for 2-4 hours (drain and rinse them well before use). This makes them easier to digest and easier to blend
            • Into your blender, add your cashew nuts, apple cider vinegar, nutritional yeast, salt, the juice of half a lemon and your water
            • Blend on full speed until it is super smooth. This should take approx 45 seconds in a high speed blender or food processor
            To finish and serve:
            • Assemble by laying your Romaine leaf flat on your surface and filling it with a central line of your pecan nut filling, then spoon about a tablespoon of your tomato salsa over your pecan nut filling (avoid getting too much of the marinade liquid on your spoon, you really just want the chopped mix). Then…Dice your avocado over the top of your salsa, spoon or pipe your cashew cheese over your whole taco, sprinkle with nutritional yeast and mixed seed if you want to and………..
            • DONE! Eat and enjoy