Smoked Pecan Nut Tacos in a Romaine Lettuce, with a Creamy Cashew Cheese

• Cuisine: Lunch/Dinner
• Preparation Time: 25 Minutes
• Soaking Time: 2-4 hours
• Servings: Makes 10 servings
• Allergens: NUTS
• Requires: A food processor, blender, knife, chopping board, bowl.

Romain Lettuce Taco Shells:

• One head of Romaine lettuce

Smoked Pecan Nut Filling: (makes enough for 10 Tacos)

• 150g pecan halves
• 50g sun-dried tomatoes (soaked and hydrated)
• 50g pitted green olives
• 1/2 a teaspoon of pink himalayan salt
• 2 teaspoons of smoked sweet paprika
• 1 teaspoon of garlic powder
• 1cm chunk of fresh ginger (finely grated)

Tomato and Red Pepper Salsa: (makes enough for 10 Tacos)

• 1cm chunk of fresh ginger
• 1/4 of a red onion
• Small handful fresh basil
• 1 whole tomato
• 1/2 a red pepper
• 30ml of apple cider vinegar
• 30ml of tamari or liquid aminos
• 50ml of cold-pressed rapeseed oil

Cashew Nut Cheese: (makes enough for 10 Tacos)

• 100g cashew nuts
• 10ml splash apple cider vinegar
• 60g of nutritional yeast flakes
• A pinch of pink himalayan salt
• 1/2 cup of filtered water
• Juice of half a lemon

Diced Avocado:

• 1/4 of an avocado per Taco

Garnish:

• A sprinkle of nutritional yeast flakes to garnish the tacos!

• For the Taco Shells:

  • Do this once all other elements are made.
  • Peel the individual leaves from your head of Romaine lettuce, snapping them at the bottom.
  • Use the Romaine lettuce leaf as the taco shell.
  • Give it a wash and lay it out flat on the surface in front of you, ready to fill with all your other elements
  • Push firmly down on the stem to crack it if you leaf is curling slightly

  Smoked Pecan Nut Filling:

  • In the food processor or blender.
  •  pulse the pecan nuts to break them up but still keeping them slightly chunky.
  • Add the sun-dried tomatoes, olives, salt, paprika, garlic and grated ginger to the pecans.
  • Blend this up in the food processor until it starts to form as a slightly chunky paste mix.
  • Add in the water as needed (you may not need it at all it is just for consistency and to help it blend).

  Tomato and Red Pepper Salsa:

  • Very finely chop the ginger, red onion and basil and add together into a mixing bowl.
  • With a slightly larger dice (about 0.5 of a cm square) dice the tomato and red pepper, add this into the bowl with the rest of the finely chopped ingredients.
  • Add the apple cider vinegar, tamari and rapeseed oil into the bowl of ingredients and marinate for 2-3 hours

  This salsa will last in the fridge for easily more than a week if its fully covered by the marinade.

  Cashew Nut Cheese:

  • Soak the cashew nuts in filtered water for 2-4 hours (drain and rinse well before use).
  • Into the blender, add the cashew nuts, apple cider vinegar, nutritional yeast, salt, the juice of half a lemon and the water.
  • Blend on full speed until it is super smooth. This should take approximately 45 seconds in a high speed blender or food processor.

  Assemble by laying the Romaine leaf flat on your surface and filling with a central line of your pecan nut filling (a full large tablespoon)

  Then…

  Spoon around a tablespoon of the tomato salsa over the pecan nut filling (avoid getting too much of the marinade on your spoon, you really just want the chopped mix, you can drain it off the spoon when you take it from the bowl).

  Dice your avocado over the top of your salsa

  Spoon or pipe the cashew cheese over your whole taco

  Sprinkle with nutritional yeast to garnish.

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