The other day I wondered what to do with my last brick of tempeh before I stock up on more. Then @plantstoplanks tempted me with her tempeh tacos.
I knew what I would do, not only with the tempeh but the bag of tortilla flour(masa harina) that I have in the cupboard. I know most people don't make their own tortillas these days. I was in Mexico three years ago for six months and even there most people buy from the local tortilla factory. There is one around every corner.
I often buy ready made tortillas that are imported but they don't taste like the ones you get fresh off the press. So I made my own since I have an extra day off due to the restaurant dining shutdown.
These tacos would include, along with the tempeh, a bunch of portobello mushrooms that I had in the fridge.
These tacos would also take on a Peruvian twist. Why? because I had a jar of aji panko pepper paste that I bought. I had no idea what it was. It turns out to be a pepper that grows in Peru and is used quite a bit in Peruvian cooking, which I don't know much about. The taste of the paste is smoky, slightly nutty and almost sweet. It isn't hot at all. But the flavor is really nice.
Since it is slightly nutty I decided to add some pumpkin seeds, and a little sweetness with some raisins.
I blended the seeds, raisins and paste together with some vegetable soup broth just enough to make a sauce consistency. It tasted great like a wanna be mole sauce.
For the filling I sauteed onion, garlic, tempeh that was finely diced, red peppers, tomatoes fresh chilies for a little heat and mushrooms. The tempeh was first cooked in vegetable broth separately by covering with the broth boiling then simmering until the broth evaporates.
At the end I stirred in the sauce and continued to cook. I added a splash of red wine as well.
I assembled the tacos with the filling. I added some guacamole that I had already made.
Taco filling:
One brick tempeh, 4 portobellini mushrooms, 1 diced onion, 3 cloves garlic 1 red pepper, 3 Roma tomatoes, 2 fresh hot serrano peppers, 1 teaspoon ground cumin, 1 teaspoon ground coriander, 1 teaspoon oregano, 1 teaspoon thyme, 1 teaspoon black pepper, 1 teaspoon paprika.
Tortillas:
2 cups tortilla flour(masa harina), 1/4 cup of cornmeal, (the recipe on the bag doesn't call for cornmeal but I like to add it for extra flavor and texture),around 1 1/2 to 2 cups water, and a teaspoon of salt. I mix it with some of the water then add more slowly to get a dough consistency which is not too dry but not too sticky. I let it rest a while covered then make balls. First I press it with a plate as it sits in between two sheets of plastic, then I roll it as thin as possible but not too thin that it will break.
Pepper sauce:
1/2 cup pumpkin seeds, 1/2 cup raisins, 1/4 cup ahi panko paste, 1/4 cup vegetable soup broth or water.
Guacamole:
4 ripe avocados, 2 diced Roma tomatoes with seeds removed, 1 minced jalapeno pepper, juice of a lime or two, 1/4 cup diced onion, a small handful of cilantro and salt to taste.
I garnished with some pomegranate seeds and fresh cilantro.
Even though I added some fresh serrano peppers, it didn't have much heat at all. I love hot and spicy but the taste of this pepper paste is so good that the heat was not missed.
We had quite a lot leftover so we had it this morning for breakfast with rice. This made it more Peruvian then Mexican, I would say.
Thanks for dropping by. Have a good day!
Wow! These looks very yummy!! Very interesting recipe!
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Wow that is tasty!! Does well, my dear👍.
Thank you friend!
WOW, that tacos look so yummy. Can you sent me some? :D
Sending now haha!😊