It's my personal opinion that you could never have too many taco recipes... I mean they're just too dang good to not! Some may call these tacos, some may call these lettuce cups. By all means, if you have taco shells that you like using (such as site foods tacos) by all means use them! I unfortunately don't have any because I'm living in France, with no food processor or mixer of any kind, and none of the stores sell any type of paleo tacos. So I'm left to fend with the good old fashioned lettuce cups, but I honestly don't mind. The roasted carrots in this recipe add carbs, which makes it a complete and filling meal.
If you've never made cauliflower rice before, it's essentially just cauliflower, cut up into really tiny pieces to resemble rice grains. A lot of people use a food processor to do this, and I know some stores have even started selling it prepared (such as trader joes). But again, because I have neither of those where I'm currently living, I just used your standard kitchen knife to cut up the rice finely.
Between the carrots, cauliflower, and veggie-beef stir fry, these tacos are bursting with color, goodness, and flavor. Try adding these to your Tuesday night taco routine!
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes to 1 hour
Serves: 2-3
The Ingredients:
For the Carrots:
- 6 medium rainbow carrots (yellow, orange, or purple), very thinly sliced width-wise
- 1.5 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon chipotle pepper
For the Cauliflower Rice:
- 1 small head cauliflower, riced
- 1 teaspoon coconut oil
- 1 small onion, chopped
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
For the beef mix:
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 zucchini, diced
- 1 clove of garlic, minced
- 1 tomato, diced
- 125g ground beef
- 1/4 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1/4 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/4 teaspoon slat
- 1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
For the Taco Assemblage:
- 5-6 lettuce leaves
The creation:
1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. In a large baking pan (for example 9x13) place the thinly sliced carrots. The carrots should be cut so they form ovular circles (so cut width wise). You also want to make sure that they are cut extra thin so the carrots turn out crispy. Add the olive oil, salt, pepper, and chili powder, and mix well. Lastly, spread them out so they form a thin layer.
2. Place the carrots in the oven and cook for 40-45 minutes, taking them out every 10-15 minutes to stir. When they're done, they'll have taken a bit of color, and they will be slightly crispy.
3. Meanwhile, make the cauliflower rice. In a wok pan, add the coconut oil and onions over medium heat. Let cook for 2-3 minutes while the onions soften. Then add the cauliflower rice. You can make cauliflower rice in a food processor, by pulsing it, or you can just finely chop the cauliflower with a knife. Let cook for 2 minutes, then add the water. Cover the rice for 4-6 minutes, adding more water if you feel like it is starting to get dry/burn. Sprinkle the rice with salt, then remove the rice from the pan into a bowl and set it aside while you finish the rest of the preparations.
4. In the same wok pan, add the olive oil, zucchini and garlic over medium-high heat. Cook for 5 minutes, then add the tomato, cooking for another 5 minutes. Lastly, add the beef, salt, ground pepper, cumin seeds, paprika, and chili powder, cooking for another 5 minutes and stirring frequently.
5. Lastly, assemble your tacos using a large lettuce leaf, adding a bit of the cauliflower rice, roasted carrots, and beef sauté. Bon appétit!