Veggie Taco Filling

I adore tacos. All kinds of tacos. 

Crunchy shell, four tortilla, or corn tortilla. All yummy. Bean filling, rice filling, meat filling, or any combination. Then of course there's fish and shrimp, fried or barbecued. And potato tacos! Cheese baked to melt onto the shell, or sprinkled cold over the top. Tex-mex style. Baja style. 

OK. You probably get the point.

And one thing I have been wanting to work out a recipe for is a veggie taco filling. Diced up veggies and beans, sauteed and taco seasoned. I made a couple of half hearted attempts awhile back, but never really came up with anything that I was especially happy with.  Mostly because I was being lazy about spices.

But I think those tres leches cupcakes inspired me. Because I left work that day intending to make one thing for dinner (I can't remember what) and by the time I got home I was dead set on figuring out the veggie taco filling once and for all.

Veggie Taco Filling

(about 4 servings)

2 Tbsp Oil

½ cup Onion, diced

4 cloves Garlic, minced

1 can Corn (or about 1 cup of kernels)

1 can Black Beans (or about 1 cup), mostly drained but not rinsed

1 cup Tomatoes, diced

2 medium Zucchini, diced small enough to mix with corn and beans

1 tsp Cayenne Pepper

1 tsp Chili Powder

¼ tsp paprika

¼ tsp Cumin

¼ tsp garlic powder

¼ tsp onion powder

a pinch of Salt

Heat oil in saute pan or large frying pan over medium heat

Add onion and cook until soft

Add garlic and cook about one more minute, until fragrant

Add zucchini and cook until it starts to soften and is almost cooked through

Add black beans, corn, tomatoes, and spices. Turn up heat if needed. Continue heating until zucchini is cooked and mixture is heated throughout.

Serve with tortillas and all your favorite taco toppings!

I am pretty pleased with this recipe. It has a little bit of kick, but not too much. And I like the contrast with the sweet corn.  The sweet corn might add too much sweetness for some people though, or even for me if I'm in a certain mood, so I might omit it sometimes.  I think some diced up red bell pepper would also be a food addition to the mix, so I might try that next time.  This is probably just as much a starting point as a firm recipe.

Good Enough To Be Dinner: Zucchini Almond Sauté

For most people this would constitute a side dish. I, however, consider this a perfect light dinner.

I have smitten kitchen to thank for this recipe. I have never prepared a recipe so soon after seeing it posted. But I absolutely love zucchini (seriously, I can barely cook anything without it. Not in the recipe? I will find a way to get it in).

It is a minimalist dish. You barely need anything to make it - zucchini, almond slices, and parmesan cheese.

And if I don't have it on hand, I often make it without the cheese. Still good, but with cheese is better. But thats no surprise since with cheese is ALWAYS better.

Anyway...getting back on track. Don't let this short list of simple ingredients fool you. There is sooo much flavor in this preparation.

Ingredients (all approximate):

2 medium zucchini

¼ cup sliced almonds

½ Tbsp olive oil

¼ cup shaved parmesan

salt

pepper

Method:

Heat oil in a large skillet or sauté pan over med-high heat.

While oil is heating slice your zucchini into matchsticks. I will show you how I like to do this not because I think you are dull, but because it quite honestly took me several tries to figure out a good way to do this.

When oil is hot, add almond slices to pan. Mix around to coat with oil, and heat until most pieces are golden brown and the nuts become fragrant.

Add zucchini to pan and toss with nuts. Add a bit of salt (I usually do about one turn on my grinder) and generously pepper.

Cook, tossing frequently, until zucchini just warms thru and softens slightly. It should still be somewhat firm and not completely translucent.

Transfer to bowl and top with parmesan. Serve (or eat) immediately.