Making tacos part 7: Vegetarian Taco Oven Bake

I made this fantastic vegetarian taco dish a while ago and the children both loved it (and so did the husband and I), so I've decided to add it to my blog. You can serve it with guacamole and a Mexican salad, or with different salsas. I think a tomato salsa or Picco de Gallo would go very well with it, too. The original recipe can be found in the 'Handboek voor ecologische voeding', Velt, one of my favourite cookbooks. I changed the quantities so you can use a full box of taco shells instead of just 8.

Vegetarian Taco Oven Bake 

Serves 4

• A box of Taco Shells (12 shells)
• 6 large potatoes
• 1 green bell pepper
• 1 yellow bell pepper
• 1 red bell pepper
• 1 large onion (or 2 medium-sized ones)
• 1,5 dl cream
• 100 g grated Emmental cheese
• 1 tsp. Taco Seasoning
• 1 tbsp. olive oil

Can be served with:

• Guacamole
• Tomato Salsa
• Picco de Gallo
• Sweetcorn & red bell pepper salsa
• (Mexican) salad

 - Scrub the potatoes and boil them in their jackets. Once cooked, put them aside to cool down. Once they have cooled down enough, you can peel them and slice them (slices should be approx. 0,5 cms thick). It's a bit of a messy job, but they taste fantastic this way. Sprinkle some salt on top of the slices.

- Chop the bell peppers into small squares. Put them in a pot and add some water until they are covered, then cook for 5 mins. (If your children are still very small, you might want to cook them for a bit longer, until they are soft.)

- Slice the onions so you get onion rings. Heat the olive oil in a pan and add the onion rings and the taco seasoning. Fry the onions until they are glazed.

- Depending on the size of your oven dishes, you can make do with one very large oven dish, or use 2. I used 2, so I poured approx. 1 dl of cream into 1 oven dish, and 0,5 dl in the smaller one.

- Then put first potato slices, then onion rings and then bell peppers into each taco shell and put them in the oven dishes. Cover everything with grated cheese and put the dishes in the oven at 220°C (or 200°C for a fan-assisted oven) for15 mins.


 

Making tacos part 4: Tomato salsas

There are 2 different types of tomato salsa that I like to make when we eat fajitas or tacos. I will give you both recipes, so you can pick your favourite (or make both of them).

Tomato Salsa

- 4 or 5 tomatoes, peeled and chopped

- 125 ml taco sauce (store bought, mild or hot, pick your favourite)

- 2 tbsp. finely chopped fresh coriander

- salt and pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients, either with a spoon for a thick salsa, or in the blender for a thin one. You can keep the salsa in the fridge for 2 to 3 days.

Picco De Gallo

- 2 tomatoes, peeled and chopped

- 1 small onion, peeled and chopped

- 4 cloves garlic, crushed

- 4 tbsp. finely chopped fresh coriander

- 2 tbsp. lime juice

- 2 tbsp. olive oil

- salt and pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients with a spoon and put the salsa in the fridge for 30 mins before serving it. This salsa should be eaten on the day you make it, it doesn't keep well.

Making tacos part 2: Guacamole

Some of you have probably made guacamole before, but for those of you who haven't, here's a nice and quick recipe:

Thick Guacamole

- 1 large avocado
- 2 tomatoes, chopped
- 1/2 red onion, chopped
- 1 tsp. garlic, crushed
- the juice of 1 lemon
- salt and pepper to taste

Chop the avocado and mix it with all of the other ingredients. Serve within the next 2 hours, otherwise the avocado will start turning brown.

Lazy Sunday Food: Zucchini and Bacon Omelette

Omelette, tortilla or frittata is so easy to make, and there are so many different combinations of vegetables and/or meat/fish you can use. I bake my omelettes in the oven, as that, according to me, is quickest and gives the nicest results.

I made this one with lots of zucchini and bacon. Normally I tend to use 4 eggs (sometimes even less), but in this case I think I used 5 because I feared 4 wouldn't be enough to hold the omelette together.

Zucchini and bacon omelette:

• 100 g bacon, slices or lardons
• 2 zucchini (or approx 400 g, as sizes can vary a lot)
• 1 onion
• 5 (large) eggs
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 tsp tarragon
• (salt)
• pepper

- Preheat the oven to 180°C or 160°C for a fan-assisted oven.
- Either slice the zucchini and then cut the slices in half, or dice it, if you prefer.
- Chop the onion.
- Heat the olive oil and fry the bacon briefly or until it's brown, according to your taste.
- Add the onions and once they are glazed, stir in the zucchini and fry for approx. 5 mins.
- Beat the eggs with the tarragon, salt and/or pepper in a bowl, and add the bacon, zucchini and onion. Stir well.
- Grease a (silicone) pie pan with a little olive oil and pour in the mixture. Put it in the oven for 20 - 30 mins.

This can be served with rice, pasta, potatoes,... and also eaten cold on a picnic or day trip.

(Dutch recipe available on demand)