Plant-Based Crispy Fried Tacos with Almonds and Raisins
By Sara MayerPublished on January 31, 2022
Time
1¼ hours
Yield
Serves 4 to 6
Ingredients
7 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided1 small onion, chopped fine2 garlic cloves, minced½ teaspoon minced canned chipotle chile in adobo sauce ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon ⅛ teaspoon ground cloves 12 ounces plant-based ground meat 1 cup vegetable broth 2 tablespoons chopped raisins 1 tablespoon cider vinegar ½ teaspoon table salt ½ teaspoon pepper ¼ cup slivered almonds, toasted12 (6-inch) corn tortillas
Before You Begin
To ensure crispy tacos, cook the tortillas until they are deeply browned. To garnish, open each taco like a book and load it with your favorite toppings. Then fold it back up and devour.
Instructions
- Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 400 degrees. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Add onion and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in garlic, chipotle, cinnamon, and cloves and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add ground meat and cook, breaking up meat with wooden spoon, until firm crumbles form, about 3 minutes.
- Stir in broth, tomato sauce, raisins, vinegar, salt, and pepper and simmer until sauce is thickened, about 5 minutes. Stir in almonds and season with salt and pepper to taste. Transfer meat filling to bowl; wipe skillet clean with paper towels.
- Thoroughly brush both sides of tortillas with 2 tablespoons oil. Arrange tortillas, overlapping, on rimmed baking sheet in 2 rows (6 tortillas each). Bake until tortillas are warm and pliable, about 5 minutes. Remove tortillas from oven and reduce oven temperature to 200 degrees.
- Place 3 tablespoons filling on 1 side of 1 tortilla. Fold and press to close tortilla (edges will be open, but tortilla will remain folded). Repeat with remaining tortillas and remaining filling. (Filled tortillas can be covered and refrigerated for up to 12 hours.)
- Set wire rack in second rimmed baking sheet and line rack with double layer of paper towels. Heat remaining ¼ cup oil in now-empty skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Arrange 6 tacos in skillet with open sides facing away from you. Cook, adjusting heat so oil actively sizzles and bubbles appear around edges of tacos, until tacos are crispy and deeply browned on 1 side, 2 to 3 minutes. Using tongs and thin spatula, carefully flip tacos. Cook until deeply browned on second side, 2 to 3 minutes, adjusting heat as necessary.
- Remove skillet from heat and transfer tacos to prepared wire rack. Blot tops of tacos with double layer of paper towels. Place sheet with fried tacos in oven to keep warm. Return skillet to medium-high heat and cook remaining tacos. Serve.
Time
1¼ hoursYield
Serves 4 to 6Ingredients
7 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1 small onion, chopped fine
2 garlic cloves, minced
½ teaspoon minced canned chipotle chile in adobo sauce
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
⅛ teaspoon ground cloves
12 ounces plant-based ground meat
1 cup vegetable broth
2 tablespoons chopped raisins
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
½ teaspoon table salt
½ teaspoon pepper
¼ cup slivered almonds, toasted
12 (6-inch) corn tortillas
Ingredients
7 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1 small onion, chopped fine
2 garlic cloves, minced
½ teaspoon minced canned chipotle chile in adobo sauce
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
⅛ teaspoon ground cloves
12 ounces plant-based ground meat
1 cup vegetable broth
2 tablespoons chopped raisins
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
½ teaspoon table salt
½ teaspoon pepper
¼ cup slivered almonds, toasted
12 (6-inch) corn tortillas
Ingredients
7 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1 small onion, chopped fine
2 garlic cloves, minced
½ teaspoon minced canned chipotle chile in adobo sauce
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
⅛ teaspoon ground cloves
12 ounces plant-based ground meat
1 cup vegetable broth
2 tablespoons chopped raisins
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
½ teaspoon table salt
½ teaspoon pepper
¼ cup slivered almonds, toasted
12 (6-inch) corn tortillas
Why This Recipe Works
These tacos are a mash-up inspired by two classics: tacos dorados (crispy fried beef-filled tacos) and tacos de picadillo Oaxaqueño (ground pork tacos with onions, raisins, and warm spices). As with our Not-from-a-Box Weeknight Tacos (page 71), we soften the onion and bloom the spices in oil before adding the plant-based meat. Raisins and almonds take the filling from everyday to extraordinary, adding richness and pops of sweetness. We then stuff corn tortillas with the filling and shallow-fry them until crispy. Don't worry—the cohesive filling won't fall out of the unsealed shells. In fact, the filling's moisture keeps the shells’ folded middles pliable so the tacos don't crack down the center at first bite. Arrange the tacos so that they face the same direction in the skillet to make them easy to fit and flip.
Before You Begin
To ensure crispy tacos, cook the tortillas until they are deeply browned. To garnish, open each taco like a book and load it with your favorite toppings. Then fold it back up and devour.
Instructions
- Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 400 degrees. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Add onion and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in garlic, chipotle, cinnamon, and cloves and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add ground meat and cook, breaking up meat with wooden spoon, until firm crumbles form, about 3 minutes.
- Stir in broth, tomato sauce, raisins, vinegar, salt, and pepper and simmer until sauce is thickened, about 5 minutes. Stir in almonds and season with salt and pepper to taste. Transfer meat filling to bowl; wipe skillet clean with paper towels.
- Thoroughly brush both sides of tortillas with 2 tablespoons oil. Arrange tortillas, overlapping, on rimmed baking sheet in 2 rows (6 tortillas each). Bake until tortillas are warm and pliable, about 5 minutes. Remove tortillas from oven and reduce oven temperature to 200 degrees.
- Place 3 tablespoons filling on 1 side of 1 tortilla. Fold and press to close tortilla (edges will be open, but tortilla will remain folded). Repeat with remaining tortillas and remaining filling. (Filled tortillas can be covered and refrigerated for up to 12 hours.)
- Set wire rack in second rimmed baking sheet and line rack with double layer of paper towels. Heat remaining ¼ cup oil in now-empty skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Arrange 6 tacos in skillet with open sides facing away from you. Cook, adjusting heat so oil actively sizzles and bubbles appear around edges of tacos, until tacos are crispy and deeply browned on 1 side, 2 to 3 minutes. Using tongs and thin spatula, carefully flip tacos. Cook until deeply browned on second side, 2 to 3 minutes, adjusting heat as necessary.
- Remove skillet from heat and transfer tacos to prepared wire rack. Blot tops of tacos with double layer of paper towels. Place sheet with fried tacos in oven to keep warm. Return skillet to medium-high heat and cook remaining tacos. Serve.
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