Chickpea Tinga Tacos
Happy Taco Tuesday! If your family is anything like mine we require tacos at least once a week. Being vegetarian, it can sometimes be difficult to find a filling that is satisfying and tasty at the same time. This recipe is from the Hello Fresh Cookbook, however, I have made a few updates per my family’s taste. (Click here for the original recipe!)This filling is completely vegan and is really versatile in several different dishes! I highly recommend meal prepping a double batch and using it a couple of times throughout the week! The amount below will make 12-15 tacos and I normally account for roughly 2-3 tacos per person. I use this filling in Frankies/wraps the next day, or with a bowl of Jeera Rice. You could also thin it out with a tomato gravy and use it for Samosa Chaat or put it in a pressed sandwich with cheese for an easy weekday lunch!
Chickpea Tacos
Ingredients
Chickpea Filling:
- 1-29 oz. can chickpeas drained and rinsed
- 4 poblano peppers chopped
- 1 large or 2 medium red onions thinly sliced lengthwise
- 1 bunch of green onions thinly sliced, whites and greens separated
- 1-6 oz. can of tomato paste
- 2 limes additional for serving
- 2 jalapeño or serrano peppers minced
- 1/2 c. of garlic paste/minced garlic
- 1 tbsp. Kashmiri Lal Mirch/ paprika
Seasoned Sour Cream
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1 tsp. lime juice
- 1 pinch taco seasoning
Pickled Onions
- 1 large red onion thinly sliced length wise
- 1/4 cup white wine vinegar
- 2 peppers of your choice jalapeño, serrano, habanero (optional)
- 1 tsp. salt
Taco Assembly Items
- Flour tortillas I use low carb wraps for a lighter option
- Monterey Jack Cheese
- Salsas of your choice
- Sliced Green Onion
- Diced Tomatoes
- Lime Wedges
- Diced peppers of your choice
Instructions
For the filling:
- Drain and rinse the chickpeas. (Reserve the brine! This can be used for vegan whipped cream/vegan alternative to egg whites!) Let the chickpeas dry while you prepare the rest of your ingredients. Once the chickpeas are fairly dry, mix in the taco seasoning and Kashmiri Lal Mirch. Toss the chickpeas until they are evenly coated.
- On medium-high heat, place enough oil to coat the bottom of a large skillet. Toss a chickpea in, if it doesn’t sizzle on contact wait another minute or two before trying again. Brown the chickpeas until you get a nice, deep rust color and then return the chickpeas back into the bowl you used to coat them.
- In the same pan, heat up the same amount of oil as before. Turn the heat down to medium. Cook through your garlic paste, chopped peppers, and the whites of your green onions for 3-4 minutes.
- Turn up the heat again to medium-high and toss in your poblanos and red onions. You still want the veggies to retain a bit of crunch so don’t cook them down until they’re wilted.
- Add the tomato paste and keep cooking until the tomato paste is a very deep red. Add the chickpeas back into the pan with 2 tsp. of lime juice. Mix continuously.
- Once the mixture is uniformly combined, add 1/2 cup of water to deglaze the bottom of your pan until a thick sauce forms. As the sauce forms, continuously use a soft silicone spatula to scrape the fond (browned bits of food at the bottom of the pan) into the sauce. Fond is concentrated flavor and you do not want to leave it behind! Feel free to add more water as needed.
Sour Cream/Pickled Onions:
- Combine all ingredients for each topping in separate bowls and refrigerate.
- When you are ready to eat just heat up your flour tortillas (I like to heat them up directly on a gas burner) and load up your toppings! Enjoy!
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