Intermediate Vegan Dinner: Raw Taco Salad

This recipe is fairly straight forward, but it does involve a number of steps to assemble items separately and then bring them together.

I found this recipe on Oh She Glows - a go to resource for vegans (so I've learned). I'll be posting another recipe that I've made from there soon (although that one will definitely be filed under the 'Advanced Vegan Dinner' heading; difficult, but worth it!)

This was my first time making 'fake meat' (using walnuts) and I was quite impressed. It didn't look all that convincing while it was in the preparation stages, but it came together nicely once layered on the salad and the taste was great. Most meat substitutes found at the grocery store are overly processed and leave me feeling pretty crummy afterwards so I was happy to make a substitute at home using simple, whole ingredients. I'll need more practice until I'm confident serving it to anyone other than Jon (he's such a good sport), but it hits the spot until then.

Walnut Taco Meat
1/2 cup walnuts, soaked for 2-8 hours
1 & 1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp cumin powder
salt, to taste
cayenne pepper, to taste (optional)

In a food processor (or by hand), pulse (or chop) the ingredients until combined. Make sure to leave the walnuts chunky. Remove and set aside.

Cashew Cream
1 cup cashews, soaked in water for 2-8 hours
6 tbsp water
3 tbsp fresh lemon juice
salt, to taste

Drain and rinse the soaked cashews. Add them into a processor and process. Stream in about 1/2 cup water and a couple tbsp of lemon juice. Add more water as needed to achieve your desired consistency. The nut sauce should be super smooth and not grainy. Add salt to taste.

3-Minute Guacamole
1 large ripe avocado
1/4 cup red onion, chopped
1/2 small tomato, chopped
1/2 tsp ground cumin
2 tbsp fresh lime juice
1/4 tsp salt
Itty bitty splash of tequila

In a medium-sized bowl, mash the avocado flesh with a fork, leaving some chunks. Stir in the chopped tomato, red onion, lime juice, and seasonings to taste.

Other salad ingredients
greens of choice
salsa
green onion
crackers or tortilla chips

To assemble (per bowl) 
Add a hefty base of greens in a large bowl followed by a heaping scoop of guacamole in the middle. Spoon on 2 tbsp of salsa over the greens followed by half of the taco meat. Drizzle with cream sauce and garnish with a chopped green onion and leftover chopped tomato and red onion. Place a few crackers into the salad before serving.