Vegan Summer Fiesta Taco Salad with Plantains, Corn, Avocado
This summery salad is an entree salad with fiesta flavors. Fajita tofu, sweet corn, sweet plantains and colorful cabbage is just the start of this feisty bowl!
Servings: 2 salads
Ingredients
- 5-6 cups leafy greens, mixed
- 1 cup red cabbage, finely chopped
- ¼ cup black olives, sliced
- 1 cup sweet yellow corn (fresh and steamed or canned)
- 6-7 blue corn tortilla chips, crushed
- ½ - 1 avocado, pitted and thinly sliced into two fans
- 1 plantain, ripe with blackened peel - sliced into half inch rounds
- 1-2 tablespoon vegan shredded cheese (Daiya jalapeño havarti used)
- 2 tablespoon pepitas
- extra virgin olive oil, as needed for pan
Fajita Tofu:
- 1 ½ cups firm tofu, crumbled
- 1 tablespoon fajita seasoning mix
- 2 tablespoon nutritional yeast
- salt and pepper to taste
- optional: 1 teaspoon maple syrup
- extra virgin olive oil, as needed for pan
- side: hot sauce or salsa
- side: blackened tortillas
- dressing: your choice - I used a creamy mustard dressing
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the greens, cabbage and salad dressing. Toss.
- Pour the greens into large serving salad bowls. Top with the corn, pepitas and olives. Set aside.
- Warm up a skillet over medium-high heat and add a splash of EVOO to coat the pan. Add the tofu, along with the fajita spices and nutritional yeast. Toss well while the tofu cooks. For a sweet accent, fold in the maple syrup. Add salt and pepper to taste. (I used Penzey's Spices fajita spice which contains salt, so no additional salt was needed.) When tofu is crumbly and seasoned and warmed, remove from the skillet and add a generous scoop to each of the salad bowls - dividing the tofu between the two bowls.
- For the plantains: rinse out your skillet if needed. Warm the pan over high heat and add a splash of EVOO to coat the pan. Add the plantains and allow them to cook for 1-2 minutes before flipping. Cook for another 1-2 minutes. Optional: add a splash of maple syrup for extra sweet plantains. Scoop the blackened plantains onto the salad bowls. Tip: When plantains are done they will be shiny and blackened on the outsides and soft and tender through the middle. You do not want the center to be starchy, but rather super tender.
- Add the avocado fans to the salad bowl along with the shredded vegan cheese. Optional: serve with vegan sour cream or cashew cream or Vegenaise. Serve with blackened corn tortillas and hot sauce or salsa.