Cauliflower Tinga Tacos
A little midweek pick me up - tacos - always tacos. Specifically these Cauliflower Tinga Tacos, which my husband told me were “the best vegetarian tacos he’s ever had.” They’re spicy + flavorful + easy to make (hello food processor) + a lovely marriage of so many veggies. Smashed avocado piled with roasted cauliflower, red onion, and fresh cilantro - they’re so refreshing + satisfying. But my husband telling me he loved them so much to classify them as a “favorite” at-home meal was the motivation to give them a round two at my house sooner rather than later
My husband said these were the “best vegetarian tacos” he’d ever had. I used my trusty food processor to whip up a sauce of chiles + onion + tomato, roasted it right on cauliflower florets, and the result was flavorful + spicy + healthy tacos.
Tinga sauce
The tinga sauce is the full flavor situation. Tomatoes + chiles in adobo sauce + so many spices. It’s so dang perfect and so much good flavor that eventually cooks right onto the cauliflower (a perfect little roasty coating). Simplicity is key for weeknight meals, so I took notes from a few “tinga” recipes and tried to truly simplify for the purpose of actually pulling together a weeknight meal that didn’t take 5 hours. I just put all sauce components in the food processor and pulse that bad boy a few times, and the job is done. You end up with this salsa like consistency (very good to dip a chip into as a little chef’s snack), and it’s just a full of spice + good savory notes. The shortcut is just taking the raw ingredients right to the food processor + having the only cooking of the sauce be in the oven with the cauliflower, but it worked well for us!
Veggie Filling
My weekly routine involves incorporating cauliflower in some new meal, in some new + mildly innovative vegetarian ways, and these tacos are such a hit. You roast them a la carte with just a sprinkle of salt + pepper to start. The get crispy + brown + the most perfect cauliflower nuggets. Next step is to turn up the heat and go full convection, and I did not know the convection feature on my oven was so valuable. Like this is the recipe where that become truly apparent. The key to crispy cauliflower pieces that are a sold vegetarian filling is to convection them.
So about half way through the cooking, you just take the roasted cauliflower out, toss the cauliflower with the sauce, and place back in the oven with the convection on. The sauce just cooks on to the cauliflower in a crispy, yummy way, and if I’m being frank - it’s a pretty solid meat substitute.
Fun trick - roast sliced jalapeños with cauliflower. We love spicy, and roasting the jalapeños sort of mellows out the spice, so it’s nice for something mild. it’s just a nice addition for an extra component to the filling.
Use flour tortillas
Specifically those mini “street taco” flour tortillas. The size is perfect, and the soft pillowy texture of a flour tortilla is just my favorite. It just like perfectly absorbs the sauce + juiciness of all the veggies, and it’s the perfect vessel for tacos.
Warm flour tortillas, and pile them high with veggies. The base is just mashing about a quarter of an avocado right on top of warmed tortilla. Like pseudo guac, and it’s the perfect creamy layer to offset that spicy cauliflower, which goes right on top. A little sprinkle of fresh red onion + cilantro, and you’re set. It’s the perfect mix of roasted veggies + creamy avocado + fresh topping right on top. Oh ya - and a little bit of pepper jack cheee, which I add onto the cauliflower as soon as it comes out of the oven so it melts right on top of the sauced up veggies. So dang good.
Truth be told - did experiment + do rendition with corn tortillas. Totally fine + super tasty (that dinner is what started our obsession with these tacos!), but we’re going flour in our future attempts!
Another vegetarian meal to add to thee repertoire, and I’m so glad we’re continually building up our at-home veggie staples. There are definitely a few Half Baked Harvest + Pinch of Yum recipes that have become my quick + easy go-tos, and it feels gratifying to have some of my//our own concoctions be our date-night go-tos. At the end of the day, we just want to unwind with something yummy + fun to eat (and usually pretty healthy), and this ticks all the boxes. Every time I’ve made it, I throw together the easiest avocado + blood orange salad (included in the recipe), and it’s just the freshest taco meal to probably ever go down at our house. A real deal hit! And the fact these tacos are something Jordan calls his favorite feels really sweet.
For the tinga sauce
1/2 a red onion, choppe
2-3 garlic cloves
1 can diced + free roasted tomatoes
1/2 tsp. Cumin
2 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce (plus about a tbsp of the sauce)
For the avocado blood orange salad
2 tbsp Dijon
1 tbsp honey
juice of 1/2 a lemon
2 tbsp EVOO
1 avocado, halved + sliced
2 blood oranges, peel removed and sliced horizontally into disks
1/4 a red onion, thinly sliced (use a mandolin)
a few fresh basil leaves, thinly sliced
Salt + pepper
For the tacos
3 tbsp EVOO
1 head of cauliflower, cut into florets
1-2 jalapeños, sliced
Salt + pepper
1/4 c. shredded pepper-jack cheese
1-2 avocados, sliced and separated into quarters
1/4 of red onion, finely chopped
1/4 c. fresh cilantro, minced
Preheat the oven to 425. Toss the cauliflower florets + jalapeño slices with EVOO and a pinch of salt + pepper, spread on a foil lined baking sheet, and bake for 30 minutes.
In the meantime, make the avocado-blood orange salad. Add the Dijon, honey, lemon juice, + EVOO to a mason jar, and shake until emulsified. Set the jar aside. Lay the sliced avocado on a serving dish, and place the sliced blood oranges right on top. Place a few pieces of the sliced red onion on top. Drizzle with a few spoonfuls of the dressing and a pinch of salt + pepper. Finish with the fresh basil. Set in the fridge until you’re ready to eat.
Move to making the sauce. Place all ingredients for the sauce in a food process and blend until you’ve got a smooth, thick salsa consistency. When you removed the cauliflower from the oven, toss it with about 1/2 of the sauce (You can toss the cauli + sauce right on the baking sheet. Just spread the cauli in a single layer once everything is coated). Place the pan back in the oven, turn on the convection feature, and let cook for another 15 minutes. When the pan comes out of the oven, immediately sprinkle the cauliflower with the shredded cheese (so it will melt without having to apply direct heat).
To assemble the tacos, warm the tortilla. Smash a few slices of avocado right on the tortilla, and then placed a couple spoonfuls of cauli right on top. Garnish with a pinch of fresh red onion + cilantro. You’re ready to party!