Crunchy, zesty, cheesy, … all vegetarian guacamole cabbage bean tacos.
If you read my Summer faves post, you know that guacamole was on my list of favorite things to eat during the summer, however in reality, it’s my favorite year-round.
That doesn’t mean that I have it year-round, because I can’t get good avocados whenever I want to. However, they’re still good right now, so I’m making use of them.
While guacamole on toast with some veggies and an egg is absolutely dreamy, another just as dreamy option is putting guacamole in a taco. I mean, that’s where it belongs anyway, right? And as I make my way through the Gilmore girls, again, and cook the recipes inspired by it, I have now gotten to the taco episode.
The reality is that if you have good guacamole, you hardly need anything else in a taco. Not that every taco needs guacamole, but I do. Badly.
There are a lot of guacamole recipes out there, but mine is pretty simple. I don’t like to add many things to it, as much as I like to build on it. Does that makes sense? My favorite guacamole is made by simply mashing perfectly ripe avocados with a fork, adding lime juice, sea salt, a sprinkle of black pepper. Whenever I’m in the mood, I add a sprinkle of ground cumin too. If I’m not, I use just the first 4 ingredients. That’s my holy grail guacamole.
Everything else happens around it. With these guacamole cabbage bean tacos, I went the autumnal route. Cabbage is perfect right now, so I just want to put it on/in everything; the latest being this couscous bowl.
I skipped corn in these tacos and decided to do a quick saute of beans and zucchini, seasoned with sweet paprika and cumin. The end result is a little smokey, a little sweet. I can’t handle spicy food that well so I skip the spicy, but this is where you can add all the spicy seasonings you like.
All that’s left is cheese! I love cheese way too much, so I can never leave it out. Salty feta would definitely work really great in these tacos, but I went with cheddar. I love how fast it melts. It barely needs any heat to melt, it’s soft and crumbly and has a flavor strong enough that you don’t need that much of it.
These guacamole cabbage bean tacos have a little bit of everything and that’s why I love them. I know beans are pretty classic in tacos, but the whole cabbage-bean situation is so typically Slovene and tacos are so not, that I am absolutely in love with this pair. It’s the best of both worlds stuffed in a small flour tortilla.
Recipe
Guacamole cabbage bean tacos
Ingredients
- 1/2 small head green cabbage
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 avocados
- 1-2 lime wedges
- 1/2 teaspoon salt more to taste
- black pepper to taste
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin optional
- 1 tablespoon olive or vegetable oil
- 1 shallot finely chopped
- 1 medium zucchini ends trimmed, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced
- one 200g | 7oz can beans Borlotti, kidney, black, …
- 1/4 teaspoon sweet smoked paprika use hot paprika if you like spicy food
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- six 15-cm 6-inch flour tortillas
- 100 g 3.5 oz cheddar cheese, grated
- lime wedges
Instructions
- Finely slice cabbage with a food processor or mandoline or grate it on a box grater. Transfer to a large bowl, sprinkle with 1 teaspoon of salt and cover bowl with a plate / plastic wrap. Set aside.
- Remove skins and pits from avocados and transfer them to a bowl. Mash avocados with a fork until no big chunks are left. Add juice from one small lime wedge, sprinkle with salt and some pepper. Stir and taste to see if you need more salt or lime juice. Transfer to a bowl, cover and set aside.
- Heat olive oil in a non stick pan over medium heat. Add shallots and cook for about a minute, until soft and translucent. Add the zucchini, sprinkle with salt. Cook for a few minutes, stirring occasionally, until the zucchini gets softer and releases some water. Add the beans, paprika and cumin and stir to combine. Cook for a few extra minutes, you want the zucchini tender and beans warm. Remove from stove and transfer mixture to a bowl.
- Quickly warm the tortillas in the pan you used to make zucchini in. Toast on one side, remove from pan and spread a big tablespoon of guacamole all over the toasted side. Top with some of the zucchini bean mixture and sprinkle with cheese. Top with cabbage and season with a squeeze of lime. Add more cheese on top, if desired. Continue with the rest of tortillas and serve.
I just found your blog through Heather’s. I’m loving all these Gilmore Girls recipes!
Thank you so much, Amy! I’m so glad you like them. 🙂