Butternut Squash Tacos with Vegan Tempeh Chorizo

March Cooking By Color – Orange

One of my favorite orange foods are winter squashes. Acorn, kabocha, butternut, delicata, I love them ALL! I eat them all year round but mostly around winter and fall when they are at their juiciest. I had never made tacos before with butternut squash but knew they would be delicious.

Tacos are sort of a food group here in Austin. We have taco stands, taco trailers, tacos on every menu in town, I had a taco with tofu and peanut sauce at a Mexican food restaurants last week (of all things). We get creative with our tacos as you can see. It’s an art. I have tacos every week either at home or out. When I can’t think of what to make for a meal, tacos are the first thing to come to mind. I guess you can call this my ode to tacos post.

You feel me right? I can’t be the only vegan who eats tacos on the regular.

These tacos come together fairly quickly and are a meal just by themselves. It’s a great idea to steam your tempeh before you use it to help aid in digestion. If you have problems digesting beans or soy do not skip this step! We simmer the butternut in a bit of water and vinegar but you could use veggie broth. I like this method rather than steaming because the spices get reconstituted and become really flavorful. Keep extra water or broth nearby in case the butternut starts to stick and you need to add more. It all depends on how low you keep the flame.

Feel free to adjust the spices for your taste buds! This recipe is oil-free and gluten-free so hopefully everyone can enjoy them!

Butternut Tacos with Vegan Tempeh Chorizo
About 8 tacos

8 corn tortillas
Cilantro, chopped
1 large avocado, pitted and sliced
1 (8 ounce) package tempeh
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup filtered water
2 cups peeled and cubed butternut squash
1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon oregano
Dash cayenne
Few dashes liquid smoke
1/2 cup thinly julienned carrot
Sea salt and black pepper, to taste

Directions:
Break tempeh in half and steam for about 10 minutes. Place in bowl and mash into bits either with a pastry cutter or with your hands (after it’s cooled some). Meanwhile in a medium skillet bring vinegar and water up to a boil. Add in squash nutritional yeast spices liquid smoke and a pinch of salt. Coat squash with spices and simmer for a few minutes with the lid on stirring occasionally. Cook until just barely tender. Add in tempeh and carrots covering with lid again simmer for another few minutes stirring occasionally. Remove lid and season with sea salt and black pepper to taste.

Warm tortillas fill them up and top with avocado slices and chopped cilantro.

 What is your favorite thing to do with winter squash?