Hannah and I are kind of obsessed with tacos, and I'm pretty sure we eat them about once a week stuffed with tasty veggies, beans, and salsa. Usually, we use black beans or refried beans for our taco nights, but last night I decided to try something new: roasted chickpeas. We both loved the result--a little bit of extra crunch, and a whole lot of extra flavor.
The best thing about these vegetarian tacos is they they're easy to customize, and can be made to fit a ton of diets. You can easily accomodate meat eaters by including a plate of grilled chicken or steak, and this recipe is actually vegan, but you might want to add some avocado to the mix. If you're gluten free, just use corn tortillas instead of flour tortillas.
Spicy Roasted Chickpea Tacos
Prep time - 10 minutes / Cook time - 30 minutes / Serves two
Olive oil
1 can chickpeas/garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
A pinch of sea salt
Lemon pepper
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 zucchini, diced
1 sweet onion, diced
Soft flour tortillas
Optional taco toppings: Sour cream, shredded mexican cheese, salsa, Cholula hot sauce, avocado, cilantro, arugula/lettuce
Preheat the oven to 400 F. To prepare the chickpeas, place the beans in a smal bowl and add two tablespoons olive oil, a pinch of salt, and a generous helping of lemon pepper. Mix well, and place on a cookie sheet. Let the chickpeas cook in the oven for 20-25 minutes (the longer they're in the oven the crispier they'll be). While the chickpeas cook, dice the vegetables and cook on medium heat with a dash of olive oil for about 7 minutes. After the vegetables have been cooking for about 4 minutes, add lemon pepper to taste (I like a lot).
If you want your tortillas to be warm, wrap them in tin foil and place them in the oven with the chickpeas five minutes before they're done cooking.
Lay the table with your prepared ingredients; the vegetables, chickpeas, tortillas, and your choice of "toppings". I like to use arugula, Cholula hot sauce, medium salsa, and a little bit of shredded cheese. Enjoy!
