Vegan blogger Ashley Hankins-Marchetti delivers authentic taco taste without the carne asada in her version of this food-cart favorite, made with textured soy protein and spicy habanero pesto.

FRESNO, Calif. It took just one documentary about animal agriculture to convince Ashley Hankins-Marchetti to become vegan. The documentary, "Cowspiracy," raises the argument that livestock are harmful to the environment. Although there is still a lot of debate over the issue, Hankins-Marchettis mind was made up. No more meat for her.

That was nearly a year and a half ago, and Hankins-Marchetti remains a diehard vegan with a new passion: blogging about her vegan lifestyle.

An avid home cook, she created eatfigsnotpigs.com, where she shares her recipes with thousands of followers. Describing her cooking style as vegan comfort food, shes garnered the attention of websites such as foodgawker.com, a curated photo gallery showcasing photos and recipes from food bloggers around the world. Several of her recipes have been published on the site. Her work also appears on thefeedfeed.com.

Marchetti, a culinary school graduate, said the fun part of adopting a new cooking style is discovering new uses for everyday ingredients such as cashews. When soaked and put in a blender, the nuts take on a creamy texture that is perfect as the base for sauces, including their Caesar dressing.

Hankins-Marchettis street-style tacos will satisfy even the most devoted taco fanatic. She replaces carne asada with textured soy protein, or TSP. The soy-based product comes dry and is soaked, well seasoned and then fried into crispy chunks. She packs the TSP into a warm corn tortilla and tops it with cilantro, lettuce, onion, a squeeze of lemon and a drizzle of the spicy habanero pesto. Each flavorful bite leaves you wanting more.

VEGAN STREET-STYLE TACOS WITH HABANERO PESTO

Habanero pesto:

2 cups loosely packed fresh basil

cup pine nuts

4 cloves garlic

cup loosely packed cilantro

cup vegan Parmesan shreds (Follow Your Heart vegan shreds)

2-3 habanero peppers, deveined and all seeds removed

6-8 tablespoons olive oil

teaspoon pink Himalayan salt

teaspoon ground cumin

Tacos:

2 cups TSP or Soy Curls (textured soy protein, which we purchase at our local grocery store in the Mexican food aisle or at Whole Foods)

1 cups boiling water

2 "Not Chikn" bouillon cubes (or vegetarian or vegetable stock can be used in place of water and bouillon cubes)

2 teaspoons ground oregano

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon vegan Worcestershire sauce, optional

teaspoon liquid smoke, optional

cup vegetable oil, for frying

Corn or flour tortillas (I purchased the extra-small "street-style" tortillas)

Shredded cabbage or lettuce

Lemon wedges

To make habanero pesto, mix all ingredients in a food processor and blend on high for about a minute. Store, covered in the refrigerator until ready to be used.

For the tacos, you must first rehydrate the TSP. In a large bowl, add dry TSP. In a small saucepan on high heat, add water and bouillon cubes OR vegetable stock. Once boiling, add to TSP mixture and set it aside to rehydrate for about 10-15 minutes. Add seasonings (oregano, cumin, vegan Worcestershire and liquid smoke) and stir to combine.

In a frying pan on medium high heat, add oil. Once oil is hot, fry rehydrated TSP, stirring constantly until browned and crispy, about 15-20 minutes. Transfer cooked soy curls to a paper towel-lined plate. Serve with warm tortillas and garnish with lettuce, habanero pesto cilantro, and lemon.

Visit link:

Meatless Monday: Vegan Street-Style Tacos - The Providence Journal