Crispy Coconut Cauliflower Tacos

I am so grateful for other food sites, like Splendid Table, that post amazing and inspiring recipes. These recipes are often the catalyst for my kitchen adventures. The Baja-Style Cauliflower Tacos are phenomenal. They have the perfect amount of heat; slight crunch from the panko/coconut breading, and a soft earthy flavor of the cauliflower.

While I did not make the slaw in the recipe, I opted for a similar one with a pre-made chipotle-tomato dressing. I also served the tacos with this delicious Tomato Rice.

I also changed the process of where I added the spice – I put most of the spice in the breading mix, leaving the coconut milk plain. The downside to this was if the breading fell off, the cauliflower was a bit more bland.

 
Ingredients

• 1 c unsweetened shredded coconut
• 1 c panko bread crumbs
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1/4 tsp cayenne
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 c canned unsweetened coconut milk
• 1/2 head cauliflower (1 pound), trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
• Corn tortillas, warmed

1. Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees. Mix coconut, panko and spices in a bowl, set aside.

2. Whisk coconut milk. Dip the cauliflower into coconut milk mixture; coat well.

3. Once cauliflower is coated with coconut milk, roll in the seasoned panko/coconut topping. Place on a baking sheet.

4. Bake for 20-25 minutes, turning cauliflower pieces halfway through.

 

Crockpot Curry Tofu

I have been trying to find a great recipe for Butter Tofu, which is basically tofu in a rich curry sauce. Half Baked Harvest has a fabulous recipe. (*And, bonus, they just came out with a new cookbook!)

I made a few modifications, primarily substituting tofu for chicken. I used a very firm tofu in a vacuum sealed package. Since this cooks in a crockpot, the tofu has a generous amount of time to soak up the flavors in the sauce.

I would like to try this recipe again using vegan yogurt (I couldn’t find plain at the store). Also, if using dairy cream, I suggest adding that at the end. Mixing the cream in beforehand, then cooking for 8 hours caused my sauce to curdle.

Enjoy!

Ingredients

16 oz tofu, extra firm, cut into bite size cubes
1/2 onion chopped
1 Tbls butter
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbls freshly grated ginger
2 tsp curry powder
2 Tbls garam masala
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 6 oz can tomato paste
1 14 oz can coconut milk (unsweetened)
1/2 c plain greek yogurt
1/4 c half and half

Optional Add-ins:

Wilted greens, roasted sweet potato, rice

1. In a bowl, whisk the spices, paste, coconut milk and yogurt; set aside

2. Saute the onion until tender

3. Add everything in a crockpot. I cooked mine on low for about 8 hours

4. Serve over rice (I added roasted sweet potato and wilted kale)