Vegetable

Cauliflower Tacos

February 28, 2021
5
1 Ratings
Photo by Allie Van Dine
  • Prep time 45 minutes
  • Cook time 30 minutes
  • Serves 4
Author Notes

This recipe is inspired by the Coliflor tacos served at Todd English's MXDC in Washington, DC. Their taco trio was the greatest lunch this summer intern could ask for--infinitely customizable so that I could hit multiple food groups in one short half hour.

I would order these tacos when I wanted to lighten up my taco trio. This recipe borrows its pickled onions from Molly Yeh and its tzatziki from Ina Garten, and roasts the cauliflower to get even more flavor.

If you like spice, feel free to spike your turmeric butter with some Aleppo pepper! —Allie Van Dine

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • The Tacos
  • 1 head of cauliflower
  • 1 15 oz can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
  • 1/4 cup butter
  • 1 teaspoon turmeric
  • Olive oil
  • Salt
  • Pepper
  • 8 tortillas of your choice
  • The Accents
  • 1 red onion, thinly sliced
  • 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
  • 1.5 teaspoons sugar
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 hothouse cucumber, unpeeled and seeded
  • 2 7-oz containers of Greek yogurt (I recommend full-fat Fage Total)
  • 1/4 cup sour cream
  • 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon minced fresh dill
  • 2 cloves of garlic, minced
Directions
  1. The Tacos
  2. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
  3. Break down the head of cauliflower in to smallish florets, and toss with olive oil, salt, and pepper on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Roast for half an hour.
  4. Drain and rinse the chickpeas, and use paper towels to get them as dry as possible. On a separate baking sheet from the cauliflower, toss with olive oil, salt, and a pinch of pepper. Roast at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.
  5. When the cauliflower is done, melt the butter in a pan with the turmeric. Once combined and heated, add the roasted florets and toss in the warm turmeric butter.
  6. Assemble the tacos. Toast the tortillas in a dry pan (I use cast iron, but surely others would work) or on a grill until just browned and warmed through. Spoon in cauliflower and chickpeas and top with tzatziki and pickled onions.
  1. The Accents
  2. Make the pickled onions at least three hours before you want to eat, but ideally make them the day before.
  3. Whisk together the water, vinegar, sugar, and 1 teaspoon of salt. Add the onion, cover, and let sit at room temperature for 3 hours or in the refrigerator overnight.
  4. Make the tzatziki. Doing this at least a couple of hours before you want to eat helps the flavors meld together, but isn’t necessary—you can make it just before serving if that works better for your schedule.
  5. Grate the cucumber by hand on a box grater. Squeeze the grated cucumber with a kitchen towel or paper towel to remove as much water as possible. Place in a medium bowl and stir in the yogurt, sour cream, lemon juice, vinegar, dill, garlic, and salt/pepper to taste.

See what other Food52ers are saying.

  • Allie Van Dine
    Allie Van Dine
  • txchick57
    txchick57

2 Reviews

txchick57 August 1, 2021
Awesome looking recipe
 
Allie V. August 6, 2021
Thank you so much!