My good friend and Vegan Chef, John Merlino, dishes on some tasty street food without sacrificing flavor, healthy eating, or presentation.
Myself, a vegan for over 15 years, I know the struggles people have with enjoying food that is not only satisfying but satiating to eat. Beauty Call Podcast's own vegan chef guru takes us to that place with his Soul Potato Street tacos, dressed up with shaved savoy salad, crushed lime avocado, and a simple to make, but mouthwatering black beans and rice accompaniment. YUM!
I asked John Merlino, owner and founder and CEO of Soul Solutions, also one of our first podcasts interviews to dish on how he made these little tidbits of love.
For the tacos what you will need:
4 ea. small creamer potatoes (Or left over mashed potatoes)
1 small head of Savoy cabbage shaved fine
1 bunch cilantro chopped
1 bunch green onions chopped fine
2 dz. corn tortillas 4"
Canola oil for frying
8 oz. Daiya Vegan Mozzarella cheese
1 Large Avocado
1 Lime
Salt and pepper
Procedure:
In a 1 quart pot, add 1 1/4 cups water, bring to a boil.
Add soul patty mix and stir well off heat until all is mixed in well and resembles cookie dough. Cover and let stand 15 minutes while you prepare other ingredients.
Add the potatoes to the pot used for water and cover with water, add 1 tsp. salt and cook potatoes until tender and they crack under light pressure. Remove from water and allow to stand at room temperature.
Mix the savoy cabbage, about 4 cups with 1/4 cup of the cilantro and 1/4 cup of the green onions. Set aside for later.
Peel and crush the avocado with 1/2 tsp. salt and pepper and the juice of one lime, 1/8 cup of minced green onions and 1/8 cup chopped cilantro. Set aside for later.
Heat a large teflon skillet or even an electric pancake griddle works well. Add a thin coating of oil to the pan and place about 2 cups of the Soul patty mix into the oil, flatten it out and allow it to sizzle and brown like hash browns for breakfast. Crumble and flip mix to brown on other side, continue cooking until the mix resembled sausage. Place on a large mixing bowl and add the Daiya cheese, the potatoes and using a spoon or fork, mix all well to forma mix.
Warm tortillas in a skillet or microwave, take about 3 Tbsp. of the prepared mix and place in center of the tortilla, fold and press lightly to form a moon shape, prepare remaining tacos.
Heat a teflon pan with about 1/4" of oil, place tacos in the oil to fry until golden brown and crisp, about 1 minute each side, remove and allow to drain on a paper towel.
For Plating:
Open each taco and stuff with the cabbage mix, place a scoop of the avocado crush on top.
We served ours with black beans rice and vegetables mix and an additional squeeze of lime on top.
