Today was packed with awesomeness. Not only was it my first yoga teacher training weekend of the year – at One Down Dog‘s new studio, but I also had a chance to try out some of new vegan recipes on some old friends. After graduating college I moved to Silverlake to work at an indie record label. I lived with my boyfriend Shane (now fiance!) and his best friends. This was exciting to me because for the first time ever I was able to prepare meals for everyone on a regular basis. Yes, I considered this a good thing! It was probably during these years that I really came into my own style as a cook and tested out a lot of recipes on my guinea pigs/roommates.
Jackfruit Nachos at Sage
After purchasing and moving into our first home together, Shane and I see considerable less of our old roommates and it is an increasingly rare occasion that I have the pleasure of cooking for them. When I arrived home from yoga teacher training tonight, I was already prepared and excited to try a new recipe I’ve been concocting in my head all week. Having recently tried the Jackfruit Nachos at Sage vegan restaurant I had decided that my life could not happily continue much longer without knowing how to recreate the miracle that is cashew nacho cheese. Shane’s friends picked the right night to come over because I was going to prepare a delicious plant-based feast for them!
Sweet potatoes and onions ready to go in the oven,
Before trying to recreate a recipe at home I usually do a little research online to see what other people’s recipes look like and decide how I might adjust to my own taste. I read in one recipe that it’s best to soak the cashews for a few hours. Since I only had raw, un-soaked cashews on hand I did “quick soak” by heating some water to a boil and adding the cashews. I then turned off the heat and let it soak for about twenty minutes which gave me enough time to prep the other ingredients.
Cashew nacho cheese simmering on low.
I have to say that I’m thrilled with the finished product and luckily my fiance and his (non-vegan)friends were as well. They may not have turned out quite as beautiful as the jackfruit nachos pictured above, butt they were just as tasty! I may invest in a squeeze bottle to put sauces in so they can be drizzled on top of meals in a way that looks a little more appetizing. Also, one of these days I would like to track down where to purchase jack fruit so I can recreate that part of the nachos that inspired this recipe. If anyone in Los Angeles knows where I can get my hands on these please let me know! Update: I found some canned jackfruit at an Indian restaurant/market on Washington near Culver City called Samosa House. Check out the jackfruit tacos I made.
Taco assembly line – mexican rice, sweet potatoes, black beans, guacamole, cashew nacho cheese and shredded lettuce
I put together a little assembly line for the tacos so everyone could put theirs together the way the wanted. For mine(picture above) I put a little bit of sweet potatoes and black beans on each tortilla and topped each one with a dollop of cashew nacho cheese, guacamole and a few shreds of romaine lettuce. I noticed the guys put the rice directly on their tacos as well. Up to you – enjoy!
- corn tortillas
- romaine lettuce
- guacamole ingredients
- chips and salsa, if desired
- 2 medium sweet potatoes
- 1/2 white onion
- 2 Tbsp. olive oil
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 can black beans
- 1/4 white onion
- 1/2 cup water
- salt and pepper to taste
- Peel the sweet potatoes and dice into small cubes.
- Dice the onions and combine in a cooking dish with the sweet potatoes and olive oil.
- Bake at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until tender and caramelized.
- Combine black beans, onion, water and salt and pepper in a saucepan and simmer on low for 20 minutes.
- While the sweet potatoes and black beans cook, prepare the cashew nacho cheese.
- You can also take this time to prep some toppings.
- Once everything is done cooking, heat up some corn tortillas for about 20 seconds in the microwave to soften them before serving.
- Possible toppings include guacamole, shredded lettuce, black olives, pico de gallo, etc.
