It’s Taco Tuesday! Tacos are such a great meal, in my opinion, because they are easy to make, easy to clean up after, and most people enjoy them. The tacos I was brought up on, however, have ground beef, which causes a dilemna for vegetarians. I had heard that you could make tofu simulate ground beef easily by draining it out of the package, wrapping it tightly in plastic wrap then foil and freezing it. Then after you thaw it, you just crumble it with your hand and use it as if it was ground beef. This creates an easy way to make vegetarian tacos because you are basically doing it the same way the traditional packages tell you to, just substituting tofu for ground beef. The result tastes very much like ground beef tacos. Very palatable. I like to add some veggies with it for variety in texture and flavor. In this case, I used zucchini and onion, as well as some tomatoes. Obviously, you could do this with any brand of taco seasoning, but I like Trader Joe’s brand. It is a little spicier than other supermarket brands I have tried. I enjoy coming up with different vegetarian fillings for tacos, so look for future variations on upcoming Taco Tuesdays!
1/2 lb. tofu, frozen, thawed, liquid squeezed out, and crumbled
1 zucchini, diced
1 small onion, diced
Packet of Trader Joe’s taco seasoning
Grapeseed oil
1 tomato, chopped or handful of cherry tomatoes, cut in half
1/2 cup strained tomatoes
Chopped tomatoes or quartered cherry tomatoes
chopped cilantro
Chopped lettuce
Diced avocado
Shredded cheddar cheese
Taco shells
Saute onion in oil until just beginning to become translucent. Add tofu, stir, sprinkle taco seasoning to taste over all, continue stirring for a few minutes, trying to coat all the tofu with seasoning. Remove to bowl. Add more oil, then add zucchini and saute until soft and browned. Add tomatoes and stir. Add strained tomatoes, stir and cook some more.
Serve in warmed taco shells with chopped tomatoes, lettuce, cilantro, avocado and shredded cheese. Makes about 9 tacos. Serves about 3 people.