Thanksgiving leftover sandwiches are kind of legendary. I mean, the best part about Thanksgiving is getting to put all those leftovers in a sandwich, right? Well, I got the crazy idea that it might be good to put your thanksgiving leftovers in a taco. And boy, is it delicious! You can make this recipe using your Thanksgiving leftovers, but if you don’t happen to have a fridge full of leftover tofurkey, you can easily whip up some Thanksgiving tacos from scratch. Just roast a couple of veggies, and sauté up some herbed seitan. Top it off with some cranberry salsa and a drizzle of tahini, and you have yourself one glorious taco.
Ingredients
*Makes 8 tacos
For the Cranberry Salsa:
- 1 ½ cup fresh cranberries
- 1 large apple (a sweet variety, like gala or fuji works best)
- ½ jalapeño
- 1 shallot or ½ small onion
- juice from 1 lime
- 3 tablespoons of sugar (or coconut sugar)
For the tacos:
- 2 small sweet potatoes (or 2 cups of leftover sweet potatoes or mashed potatoes)
- 8 oz Brussels sprouts (or 2 cups of any leftover vegetables)
- 8 oz seitan (or 2 cups of leftover tofurkey, cubed)
- 2 ½ tablespoons of olive oil
- ½ teaspoon ground sage
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 8 flour tortillas
- Tahini, for drizzling (If your tahini is too thick to drizzle, thin it out with some warm water)
Directions
To make the salsa:
- Dice the apple, jalapeno, and shallot into ¼ inch pieces. (Remove the seeds from the jalapeno before dicing if you prefer.)
- Add the cranberries, apple, jalapeño, and shallot to your food processor. Pulse several times, so that the ingredients are finely chopped, but are not liquefied.
- Put the mixture in a small bowl. Add the lime juice and sugar, and stir. Let the flavors meld for at least 15 minutes before serving.
To make the tacos:
If using leftovers:
Chop the tofurkey and leftover vegetables. Reheat your leftovers according to your preference.Warm the tortillas in a skillet, add your leftovers, and top with salsa. Drizzle the tahini over each taco.
If not using leftovers:
- Preheat the oven to 425F. Peel and cut the sweet potato into ½ inch cubes. Cut the Brussels sprouts into quarters.
- Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Place the sweet potatoes on one sheet, and the Brussels sprouts on the other. Drizzle 1 tablespoon of olive oil over each sheet, and sprinkle each with ¼ teaspoon of cinnamon and salt. Toss to make sure the vegetables are well coated.
- Bake both sheets for 15-20 minutes, until the sweet potatoes are soft, and the Brussels sprouts are soft and beginning to brown. The sweet potatoes may need to bake 5 minutes longer than the Brussels sprouts. Remove both sheets the oven when they are ready.
- While the vegetables are baking, cut the seitan into bite size pieces. Heat a skillet over medium heat. When the pan is hot, add ½ tablespoon of olive oil and the seitan. Add the thyme and sage and stir to make sure the seitan is well coated. Cook the seitan for 5-7 minutes, turning the seitan frequently so that it will brown on all sides. Remove from the heat once brown and crispy.
- Warm the tortillas in a skillet, add the sweet potatoes, Brussels sprouts, and seitan. Top with salsa. Drizzle tahini over each taco.
- Watch them disappear!
