Mexican style corn tacos with chimichurri and a “meaty” black bean salsa
Super vibrant and full of flavour, these Mexican-inspired tacos are phenomenal, beautiful to look at, and equally delicious. We served them with pickled cabbage and a lacto-fermented chilli sauce to enhance the natural probiotics for better gut health. For a more authentic experience, you can make your own corn tacos – it takes longer but is fun and gives an amazing flavour.
Takes 40 minutes
Serves 4
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp miso paste
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
- 1 tsp red wine vinegar
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1/2 tsp chilli powder
- 1 tbsp oil
- 150 g tempeh
Chimchurri sauce
- 1/2 red chilli
- 1 clove garlic
- 10 g fresh coriander
- 5 g fresh flat parsley
- 40 ml red wine vinegar
- 60 ml olive oil
- generous pics of salt
Black bean salsa
- 250g tin black bean
- 150g tin sweet corn
- 2 tomatoes
- 1 acovado
- 1 lime
- pinch of salt
To serve
- 8 corn tacos
- Pickled red cabbage (sauerkraut)
- chilli sauce
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200°C (fan-assisted)
- Prepare the tempeh: Cut the tempeh into thin, long blocks about 1 cm thick. In a bowl, mix together the miso paste, smoked paprika, chilli powder, maple syrup, and red wine vinegar until smooth. Place the tempeh on a baking tray and brush one side with the paste, ensuring it's well covered. Spray with oil to help it caramelise. Bake for 8 minutes, then take it out, turn the tempeh, and brush the other side with the paste. Spray with oil again and bake for another 5 minutes. If there’s any remaining paste, brush it on and bake for a few more minutes until the tempeh looks dry on the outside. Leave to cool before slicing.
- Make the chimichurri: Finely chop the flat-leaf parsley, coriander, and red chilli. Peel and finely dice the garlic. Combine everything in a bowl with the salt, red wine vinegar, and olive oil. Mix well, taste, and adjust seasoning if needed. Set aside.
- Prepare the salsa: Cut the avocado, remove the skin and discard the stone. Dice the avocado and place it in a bowl with a pinch of salt and the lime juice. Mash with a fork until combined. Finely dice the tomatoes and add them to the avocado. Drain and rinse the black beans and sweetcorn, letting them dry briefly before adding them to the avocado and tomato mixture. Mix well and adjust the seasoning with more salt or lime juice to taste.
- Slice the tempeh: Once cooled, slice the baked tempeh into thin strips.
- Assemble the tacos: Add a generous spoonful of the black bean salsa to each taco, followed by about 6 slices of tempeh. Drizzle generously with the chimichurri sauce, and top with pickled cabbage and chilli sauce for extra flavour. Repeat with the remaining tacos until all fillings are used.
- Enjoy!