Several years ago, my Mom, Dad, sister Jane, Colin Campbell, and I gave a one-day “Healthy You” seminar in Tucson, Arizona. The night before the event we were invited to Anne Minkus’s home to mingle with many of the plant-strong pillars of the community. We had an unforgettable weekend and dinner at Anne’s home, with these Spicy Lentil Tacos leading the charge.
From Plant-Strong: Discover the World’s Healthiest Diet—with 150 Engine 2 Recipes
By Rip Esselstyn,
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Rip Esselstyn, son of Caldwell Esselstyn, MD, was a firefighter in the Austin Fire Department when he discovered dangerously high cholesterol levels among his firefighter comrades. He led a stationwide revolution of dietary change that resulted in markedly better health, which he detailed in his bestselling book, The Engine 2 Diet. Visit PlantStrong.com and follow him on Instagram and Facebook for updates.
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Comments (5)
I’ve yet to make these, because 2 cups of onions seems excessive compared to the quantity of lentils! Are they really onion tacos? I hope someone will confirm that this quantity is correct. Thanks so much!
These are delicious and one of my favorite things to make, but there is wayyyy too much liquid. I used one cup of vegetable broth instead, and that seems to help.
Several things prevent this recipe from succeeding.
The lovely dried spices in taco seasoning are not water soluble and need oil to bloom. Without oil, it’s almost like adding dust to the dish. Instead, try toasting whole spices (coriander and cumin seeds) in a dry pan, then grinding them in a spice grinder. It’s still not great, but an improvement.
As Krystal notes below, there was way too much liquid in the filling. (Was draining the lentils omitted from the instructions?) When filling the taco shells, all that liquid undid the baking of the tortillas, rendering them soggy. Either add much less broth or evaporate most of it, concentrating the flavor, by omitting the cover when simmering in step six and keeping the heat higher.
Go one better in the umami department by draining the lentils and adding half a cup of tomato sauce to the pan with the spices and lentils.
The best thing about this recipe is the method for creating the taco shells.
This were pretty tasty, but when I followed the directions the filling was more like soup, very liquidy. I had to increase the heat and cook pretty aggressively for about another 15 minutes to get it to more of a taco filling texture. I will make these again I’m sure and I might just skip the vegetable broth or use way less.
These are very very good. I make homemade salsa to go with them.