Today, I turn the focus of unResolution month from comfort foods (with a minor deviation into cookies) to straight vegetarian/vegan food that also happens to be ridiculously bad for you.  Because, after all I did become veg for the health benefits.

So anyway…

Vegan Soyrizo Taquitos

This is one of my all-time favorite vegan meals.  Taquitos are small tubes of tortilla that have been rolled with flavorful, (usually Mexican-inspired) filling.  Usually it’s beef, but sometimes chicken or chorizo.  Once the rolling is done, the whole thing is tossed into a deep fryer and made extra delicious because everything is better when fried.

Of course, if this weren’t unResolution month I would say roll them, stick them with a toothpick and bake them with a light coating of olive oil.  But this is unResolution month and you must fry!!!

Oh, and if you are wondering what Soyrizo is…it’s a soy based chorizo meat alternative.  I actually like it better than a lot of real chorizo that I have had because it is not nearly as oily.  Still, it’s kind of grainy, so it works best hidden a dish.

Making the Soyrizo Taquitos

Taquito construction is very simple and this recipe is no different.

You will need:

• 1 tube of soyrizo
• 1/2 cup vegan sour cream (1/2 cup cashew cream cheese or 1/4 cup hemp or soy milk)
• 12 small flour tortillas
• oil for frying
• Salsa, guacamole, or vegan shreds for topping

Mix the soyrizo and vegan sour cream until well incorporated.

Put a heaping tablespoon on a tortilla and cover it with the filling.

Start at one end and begin rolling the tortilla (like a cigar or like a burrito with open ends.)

Heat the oil to 350 degrees (or medium high flame on the skillet.)  Fry the taquitos for 2-3 minutes until golden brown.

Serve with salsa, guacamole, or vegan cheese and enjoy!

BTW…I have a non-vegan version with a guac recipe on my Soyrizo Taquitos recipe.

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I know many of you, my readers, are not vegans, which is just fine.  Neither am I.  However, there is nothing wrong with trying vegan recipes every now and then (like my soyrizo taquitos for instance…)

I was vegan once for about three days, but I was just not ready for it.  The diet felt restrictive, but that was before I started to learn how much is out there fore the vegan to eat.  Make no mistakes about it: there is no such thing as a bad vegan cook because eating out vegan is so hard, they must prepare their own meals.

I will admit, some of it takes some getting used to.  Some of the meat replacements appear to only fool those who have not eaten meat in a long while (I’m looking at you tofu dogs), but vegan cuisine made from good local ingredients and well prepared tofu is every bit as gourmet as a $500/plate meal.

So, if you’re stuck in a rut or looking to challenge yourself, try vegan for a meal.  Your tastebuds and your body will thank you.

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A few days after I watched the episode for the tenth time, I had a day at home and plenty of time to cook so I went to my local Whole Foods and browsedthe aisles when lo and behold what did I see?  Soyrizo…soy-based chorizo.

Now, my experience with chorizo is that it is very greasy.  In the hands of an untrained chef, chorizo can overpower everything else in a dish.  But this…this was soyrizo.  Could it be good or would I be just another untrained chef?

When I got home, I squeezed the soyrizo into a bowl (despite the fact it was packaged to looked like sausage, it was really a paste) and cut it with some sour cream (Robert used creme fraiche, but I had not thought to buy any.)  I then rolled up the taquito, pan fried it until crispy and served it with some guacamole.  It was awesome!

What you need:

• One package of soyrizo (all I can buy locally is Melissa’s Produce in the same size.)
• 4-6 tablespoons of sour cream (depending on your preference)
• one package of flour toritillas
• olive oil
• To make the guac: 4 avacados, 1/2 a red onion, 1/2 tomato, 1 jalapeno, 2 limes, 1/2 bunch of cilantro, salt, pepper, garlic powder

1. Squeeze the soyrizo into a bowl and spoon in the sour cream.  The more sour cream is added, the more the mixture begins to taste tangy and sour.  Personally, I am not a big fan of sour cream, so I stop at four.  Some may go as high as six tablespoons without overpowering the soyrizo.
2. Heat the mixture in a skillet over medium heat.  Stir to prevent burning.  Remove the mixture before the sour cream separates.
3. Coat each tortilla with the soyrizo/sour cream mixture and roll into a cigar.
4. Preheat a skillet over medium.
5. Determine how many taquitos you can fry in the skillet so that there is space between them.  I have a ten inch skillet and I can comfortably put in four at one time.
6. Add one tablespoon of olive oil per taquito you are going to fry.  Wait a few seconds for the oil to get hot.
7. Cook the taquitos on one side until it gets crispy, about 2 minutes.  Flip and cook the other side an additional two minutes.
8. Remove to a cookie rack or a plate lined with paper towels to get rid of excess oil.
9. Repeat until all taquitos are cooked.
10. To make the guac, remove the fruit of the avacados, dice the tomatoes, onions, and jalapenos and mix in a bowl with the juice of the limes, some cut cilantro, and salt, pepper, and garlic to taste.

That’s it.  This dish is good even for nonvegetarians as the soyrizo is packed with spicy flavor, but is not nearly as greasy.

Enjoy!

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