Cauliflower Tacos | with Mango + Ginger Salsa.

PSA – cancel all your plans for this evening. Something way more important has just come up. You need to go home and make Cauliflower Tacos. ASAP!

Take it from the girl who has made this very same dish no more than three times the past week – you are in for a treat! (It is okay, you can thank me later.)

This post also marks the comeback of my infamous Mango + Ginger salsa on the blog!
Cauliflower might not be a common causer of excitement, but this cabbage flower reaches other dimensions once it has been roasted in the oven. The taste really develops after a mere half hour in the oven, giving it an almost buttery flavour (which is probably why it also works so well in say a mac and yeast.)

→ 1 cauliflower head, broken into florets
→ 1 can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
→ 6 tortilla wraps of choice
→ 3 tbsp olive oil
→ 1 tsp paprika
→ 1 tsp chilli
→ ½ tsp cumin
→ salt + pepper to taste

→ 1 mango, diced
→ 5 cm fresh ginger
→ 1/2 red onion
→ 3 tbsp fresh coriander
→ juice of ½ lime (or lemon)
→ 3-4 tbsp olive oil
→ a pinch of salt
→ chili, or sriracha, to taste (opt.)

Set oven on 220°C. Toss your cauliflower florets and chickpeas in olive oil and spices, evenly distributing the mixture. Roast in oven for approx. 25-30 minutes, tossing them half way through.

While your cauliflower is roasting, prepare the salsa by dicing the mango and chopping all other ingredients finely. Add in a pinch of salt, olive oil and lime juice, stir to combine.

---

This is my contribution to January’s Månadens Gröna themed inexpensive meals for the everyday. I know Mango might not spring to mind when you think of the word budget, but hear me out. Here are some ways to make this dish a lot less expensive:

◊ Bulk buying frozen produce.
Not only is it less expensive, but in this particular case will probs save you a bit of prep time. Both cauliflower and mango normally comes ready diced.

◊ Focus on a few ingredients.
and thus skipping the “ordinary” taco fillings; sour cream, tomato, cucumber, cheese, sweet corn, mince substitutes, salsa, etc. It turns into a fairly long list when all added up! Rather let a few powerful ingredients shine through.

◊ Skip the pre-made spice mixes.
These can easily be made at home for a fraction of the price.

In total I spent around 4 pounds for 4 portions worth of cauliflower tacos, however that excludes the spices added + olive oil used, although I count them as staples and doubt the amount used would be higher than a few pennies. Further things to keep into consideration for keeping a tighter food budget ↓

◊ Bulk buy on spices (at your local asian supermarket.)
This one goes hand in hand with the previous one but deserves a bulletpoint of its own. This will save you loads of money compared to buying the small ones found in your local supermarket – AND you will be able to liven up any dull meal. Some I tend to always have at hand are cumin,  paprika, cayenne, turmeric, cinnamon, cardamom and garlic powder. Of course not to underestimate the power of good ol’salt and pepper!

◊ Recipes are merely a reference.
Recipes are by no means a holy script just because it is written down. Is some ingredient missing or out of season/budget? Swap it for something else! Just make sure to taste as you go along. Your imagination is the only limit here.

◊  Check kilo prices.
It might sound obvious but can easily be forgotten. Just do a quick scan whilst in the supermarket to see what will give you the most of your moneys worth.

---

Some further inspiration for inexpensive vegan grub:

→ Shakshuka the vegan way.
→ Carrot + Tarragon soup | Cheap vegan meals.
→ Creamy Dreamy Avopasta.