Chickpea Taquitos
Selected by Sam* (Senior Guide)
INGREDIENTS
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 medium sized onion
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 bell pepper, chopped
1 ½ cups cooked chickpeas (or one 15 oz can, drained and rinsed)
½ cup tomato sauce (pasta sauce/passata)
3 tablespoons hot sauce (or more to taste – this really depends on the hot sauce you use, be careful!)
2 tablespoons plant-based milk
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
Spice mix:
1 teaspoon onion powder
¾ teaspoon coconut sugar (or brown sugar)
½ teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon smoked paprika
½ teaspoon ground cumin
Sea salt
Ground pepper
Chili powder to taste
Time
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Serves
Makes 10 taquitos
Storage
Leftovers taste even better when eaten for lunch the next day!
METHOD
Mash. Warm the chickpeas in the microwave for around 30 seconds to help soften them up and make them easier to mash, then use a fork or potato masher to roughly mash the chickpeas.
Sauté the veggies. Heat oil in a pan/skillet over medium heat and add the onion and bell pepper. Cook for 3 minutes, then add the garlic and spice mix and sauté for a further minute.
Boil & Simmer. Add all the other sauce ingredients and the chickpeas to the pan and bring to the boil. Reduce heat to low and leave to simmer for about 2 - 4 minutes, stirring occasionally, then turn off the heat. Taste the mixture, if you want it spicier, add more chili powder to taste.
Preheat. Set the oven to 410°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place about 2 tablespoons of the filling onto each tortilla and roll them up tightly. Place every tortilla seam-side down on the baking sheet, next to each other.
Brush them with a little bit of vegetable oil (to make them even more crispy).
Bake. Place in the oven for about 15-20 minutes or until they are golden brown and crispy. Top with guacamole and salsa (optional).
Notes from Sam: I skip the step where it says to brush the rolled tortillas with oil before going into the oven, and they still come out very crispy.
Dried chickpeas can be purchased loose and in bulk from a bulk store or bulk section of your supermarket and you can use your own jars and bags. Check out some of the stores in the Sea to Sky, Vancouver area and more here.
Plant-based milks can be pre-ordered and purchased from The Velvet Underground (just across the road from Green Mo-Function Junction!) and come in re-usable glass bottles, or even better, bring your own container for them to transfer the milk into Shop Velvet Cafe
If you’re interested in making your own oat, soy or nut milks, there are recipes galore online, or you can check out Velvet Underground's YouTube video here.
Hot sauce: Jonny Hetherington from Vancouver and all ingredients sourced from BC and 100% plant-based! Spotted in Fresh Street Market, Whistler
Check out what foods are in season in BC when HERE.
Another great way to ensure you're using seasonal produce is to subscribe to a CSA Box with a local farm and structure your meals around the seasonal produce you've received that week!
If you can't buy a locally grown fruit or vegetable, it's better to buy such produce when it is in season in the country it's imported from. So for example, if you're buying avocados from Mexico, it is good to know that their peak growing season lasts from November til April, whereas avocados grown in California (closer to us and less food km's) have their peak season between May and August.