I have a serious love affair with Mexican food. I could probably eat it every day and not mind a bit. Enchiladas, tacos, beans…<Homer Simpson drooling sound>…
Oh, are you still here? Right. The point is, I like Mexican food. The downside is that most big restaurants have menus that are pretty cheese heavy. The upside is that with all that beans and rice and strong spices, it’s pretty easy to veganize whatever recipe you want. In the case of today’s recipe I didn’t even try to imitate a particular recipe so much as just throw a bunch of “Mexican-ey” foods into a wrap for lunch. And it was glorious.
I can’t say that this is super quick because you do have to steam the rice, fry up the tofu and heat the beans and corn, but it really didn’t take that long. Certainly fast enough for a weeknight dinner. Just start the rice steaming a bit beforehand. (I actually started the steamer, ran out to a meeting, and got back right as it finished. I love having all these machines that just do things for me. I still think of my laundry machine and dishwasher as my magical little buddies, all I need now is little birdies that help me get dressed.)
Once you’ve got your rice going, throw a slice of bread or two into the food processor and blend until it becomes a fine crumb. Add in some chili powder, cumin, salt, and just a drizzle of olive oil and blend for another few seconds.
Then take a brick of tofu and cut it into 1/2 inch by 2 inch rectangles (give or take, just longish thinnish slices). Dip the slices in some water, then in the bread crumbs, then set aside. I did 4 pieces of tofu per wrap and had a lot left over for dinner.
In a medium skillet over medium heat, fry the breaded tofu for a couple minutes per side until it’s heated through and the breadcrumbs have browned. While they are sizzling, you can heat some black beans and frozen corn in a medium saucepan along with a bit of chili powder, cumin, coriander, and red pepper flakes. Once everything is nice and warm remove it all from the heat and use the skillet to warm up your tortillas (just 30 seconds or so per side to make them nice and soft).
Put a warm tortilla on a plate and add some of the bean & corn mixture.
Add a few pieces of tofu:
Then a bit of rice and a touch of hot sauce (if you want it a bit spicy).
Then wrap it all up and enjoy! I had some of the leftover beans, corn & rice on the side, but as mentioned I can’t get enough of this stuff. The bean and corn mixture was actually really good just on its own as a side dish, too.
Southwest Style Bean & Tofu Wrap (Vegan, Low-Fat, Gluten free if you use GF breadcrumbs and tortilla) Makes 3-4 wraps.
Ingredients:
- 1/2 c. brown rice, steamed
- 1/3 package of tofu, sliced into thin strips
- 1-2 slices of bread or 1/2 c. breadcrumbs (use GF breadcrumbs if you’re avoiding gluten)
- 2 tsp chili powder, divided
- 1 tsp cumin, divided
- 1 tsp salt, divided
- 1 15 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 c. frozen corn (or about 1 ear fresh)
- 1/2 tsp coriander
- Red pepper flakes
- Hot sauce (optional)
- Tortillas (I used sprouted whole grain, you can use whatever you like. Make sure it’s GF if you’re avoiding gluten.)
Directions:
Steam rice until well cooked. To make your breadcrumbs add bread to a food processor and blend until crumbly. Add 1 tsp chili powder, 1/2 tsp cumin, and 1/2 tsp salt and blend until mixed well. Cut tofu into thin strips and coat by dipping in water and then rolling in breadcrumbs. In a medium skillet over medium heat, fry coated tofu strips (you may want to use a bit of oil to grease the skillet) until warm and golden brown – about 2 minutes per side. While tofu is heating, add rinsed black beans and corn to a small saucepan along with the rest of the chili powder, cumin, salt, coriander, and a pinch of red pepper flakes. Heat, stirring occasionally, until beans and corn are heated through.
Once tofu, beans and corn are all heated, remove from the heat and use the same skillet to warm the tortillas (about 30 seconds per side until they are soft and pliable). Set tortillas onto a plate one at a time and add bean & corn mix, tofu, rice, and some hot sauce if desired. Roll up like a burrito and serve immediately.
