insideKENT Magazine Issue 49 - April 2016 | Page 53

FOOD+DRINK

#MeatFreeMonday
It seems there’s a hashtag for every day of the week… #TBT
(Throwback Thursday), #FF (Follow Friday), the list goes on.
But have you heard of #MeatFreeMonday? Of all the hashtags
and social trends, this one has to be one of our favourites.
Launched by Paul, Mary and Stella McCartney in 2009,
Meat Free Monday is a not-for-profit campaign which
aims to raise awareness of the detrimental environmental
impact of eating meat, and to encourage people to
help slow climate change, preserve precious natural

resources and improve their health by having at least
one meat-free day each week.
Their website – www.meatfreemondays.com –
is full to the brim with information, how to get involved,
and of course, mouth-watering recipes.

WALNUT MEAT TACOS
Serves 2-4
Prep time: 25 min
Like any traditional taco, these Walnut Meat Tacos are a harmonious layering of texture and flavour, and so satisfying you’ll soon forget they
aren’t even ‘cooked’.

Ingredients
For the tacos
• 130g walnuts
• 3 sundried tomatoes
• 1 scant teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
• pinch of cayenne pepper
• 1/2 tablespoon soy sauce or tamari
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 2 little gem lettuces
For the pineapple salsa
• 1/2 pineapple, peeled and diced
• 1 small yellow pepper, deseeded and diced
• 2 spring onions, sliced
• 1 small green chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
• juice of 1 lime
• 20g fresh coriander, roughly chopped

For the garlicky avocado sauce
• 1 avocado, peeled and stoned
• 1 tablespoon coconut cream or yogurt
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• juice of 1 lime
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 2–4 tablespoons water
• salt

For the avocado sauce, put the avocado flesh in
a food processor or blender with the coconut
cream or yogurt, garlic, lime juice and a pinch of
salt and blend until smooth. While it’s blending,
gradually pour in the extra virgin olive oil until
amalgamated before thinning out with a few
tablespoons of water, depending on how thick
you prefer it. Check for seasoning, adding a little
more salt if necessary. Refrigerate until needed.

Method

Separate the leaves from the little gem lettuces.
Spread some avocado sauce in the centre of
each lettuce leaf, spoon over a generous amount
of walnut meat and top with the pineapple salsa.
Eat, taco style.

Put the walnuts in a food processor or blender
and blitz to a coarse rubble. Add the sundried
tomatoes, spices, soy sauce or tamari and oil
and pulse until it forms a crumbly ‘meaty’ texture.
For the pineapple salsa, put the pineapple and
yellow pepper in a bowl. Add the spring onions
and chilli. Squeeze over the lime juice and stir to
combine befor e adding the coriander. Stir and
set aside until needed.

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From The New Vegan by Áine Carlin,
published by Kyle Books, priced £14.99.
Photography by Nassima Rothacker.