Lentil Tacos

Serves 6-7 plus leftovers bonus it freezes well. 15-20 minutes for prep and 35-40 to cook the lentils.

I love black bean tacos and all but, sometimes when you get to that third hard-shelled taco the bottom can sometimes be a little soggy. Then one day I wanted tacos on the fly and didn’t have beans pre-soaked so the idea was born to fill a taco shell with lentils! Such a versatile legume!

There are also a variety of different ways to mix this Lentil taco mix up so if you make extra you won’t be bored. First you have the taco recipe. Second, you can do soft corn tortillas another night, simply top with chopped onion, cilantro and tomatoes. Third, you can add vegetarian refried beans and make a burrito. Fourth, you can turn around and make a quesadilla. Fifth, turn a flour soft shell into a tortilla bowl shell and you have a taco salad. Sixth, halve or center a green pepper roast it then, fill with the lentil goodness top off with some cheese and tomatoes before cooking and then add the “normal” taco fixings. Lastly the beans freeze quite well.

I go for the black lentils or the French green lentils, as they stay firmer. I don’t use the larger green or orange lentils as they are a bit soggy for my texture preference .

2. C green and black lentils (I like to mix em up since they are different sizes)

cooked in 4c. water/veggie broth, I use a ½ strip of Dulse or Kumbo seaweed or half a veggie bullion cube.

1 red or green pepper sautéed before adding to the mix (optional)

1 medium sized onion chopped small

3,4,5 cloves of garlic

a small dose of olive oil in the water

cook together with the lentils and broth.

When the water has boiled out some, now is the time to add the spices

¼ C. of Taco seasoning, I like the Frontier brand in bulk, make sure you select the taco seasoning and not the “mexican seasoning” as they call it, the latter doesn’t have the same flavor I prefer for my taco seasoning.

½ TBSP. Cumin

1 TBSP. Garlic powder

(Optional) 1/3 C. nutritional yeast

now once most almost all of the water has boiled out (you will have your flame on low now)

Add about 1 C. of Salsa. Well Coating the lentils, not making the mixture super soupy. I prefer the whole foods brand 365 medium salsa, or the Heredez brand verde or medium regular salsa (I’ve tried quite a few salsa brands over the years)

I llke to add in a couple Jalapenos, green chilies some cayenne pepper and red chili flakes.