Meatless Monday: Thai Red Curry Vegetable Tacos

Taco Monday may not have the same ring to it as Taco Tuesday but this Meatless Monday we are going taco crazy with Thai Red Curry Vegetable Tacos!

Let me tell you about my new favorite taco. I cooked up some vegetables in plenty of sesame oil, garlic and ginger (always a winning combination) and mixed in some quinoa for protein. Then I created the all time best sauce that you can use in many dishes - roasted sweet corn and red peppers and blended with thai red curry paste, coconut milk and some lime juice. It's sweet, it's a tad spicy and it's a beautiful color that will cheer you up before you even take a bite. I topped off the tacos with crispy bok choy leaves (you can easily sub kale), chopped cashews and scallions. The flavors, colors and textures of this one will leave you one satisfied vegetarian, I'm sure of it.

Find more vegetarian and dessert recipes on my blog!

Thai Red Curry Vegetable Tacos
Serves 4

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup uncooked quinoa
• 1 1/2 cups vegetable broth
• 1 tablespoon coconut oil, melted
• 1 large red bell pepper, cut into 1/4 inch strips
• 1 cup frozen corn
• 1 tablespoon lime juice
• 1 1/2 teaspoons Thai red curry paste (or to taste)
• 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons coconut milk
• 1 tablespoon sesame oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 inch ginger root, minced
• 4 scallions, thinly sliced and separated
• 1 medium carrot, cut into 2 - 3 inch matchsticks
• 4 ounces shiitake mushrooms, thinly sliced
• 8 ounces bok choy leaves or kale, cut into 1/2 thin strips
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/4 cup chopped cashews
• Corn or flour tortillas
• Salt and pepper, for seasoning

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and line two baking sheets with parchment paper

Add the quinoa and vegetable broth to a medium pot over high heat. Once boiling, cover and lower the heat to a simmer. Cook for 15 minutes (or until the water is absorbed), remove from the heat and set aside

While the quinoa is cooking, toss the corn and 1/4 of the red pepper in 1 tablespoon coconut oil and season with salt and pepper. Spread out on one of the baking sheets

Toss the bok choy or kale strips with 1 tablespoon olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Spread on the second baking sheet

Roast the corn and red pepper for 15 minutes, remove from the oven and allow to cool for a few minutes. Cook the greens for an additional 5 - 10 minutes or until crispy

Add the roasted corn and roasted pepper to a blender with the coconut milk, lime juice, Thai red curry paste, 1/4 teaspoon salt and pepper. Process until smooth, taste and season with additional salt and pepper until the flavors really sing. Set the sauce aside

Add 1 tablespoon of sesame oil to a large skillet over medium low heat. When hot, add the garlic, ginger and 3/4 of the scallions. Cook until softened (2 - 3 minutes) and add the mushrooms, remaining red pepper and carrots.

Raise the heat to medium high, add 3 tablespoons water and cover. Cook the vegetables for about 4 minutes or until tender. Season with salt and pepper

Stir the cooked quinoa into the vegetables

Assemble the tacos by adding the quinoa vegetable mixture to the tortillas. Top with plenty of sauce, chopped cashews, crispy greens and the remaining uncooked scallion