Za’atar Roasted Vegetable and Black Bean Tacos | vegan | gluten free

A rainbow of vegetables coated in za’atar spice paired with hearty black beans, folded in soft corn tacos and served with a tahini-lime sauce. I love how you can take a soft corn taco and let your imagination run wild with the fillings. Tacos are the ‘It’s a Small World’ of food items. They travel the globe collecting interesting incarnations along the way. Today we’re hopping to the middle east and roasting our vegetables in za’atar: a middle eastern spice mix made of sumac, thyme, cumin, and sesame seeds. Then drizzling it all with a zesty lime and tahini sauce. These are well-travelled tacos.

(P.S. I dare anyone to look at this rainbow of veggies and not smile)You can use any vegetables you like here, but the most important thing is to make sure that they are cut up into nearly uniform size pieces so that they take similar times to roast. I used sweet potato, broccoli, capsicum, and red onion. Pumpkin, zucchini, eggplant, and cauliflower would all be wonderful too. Whenever I make a pan of roasted vegetables for dinner I roast a huge amount and then toss them together with some beans for an easy lunch for the next day – two meals from one! These tacos make the perfect midweek meal – from start to finish they take about thirty minutes! A healthy, filling, family friendly meal that takes only thirty minutes is always welcome in our house! And this is a dinner that can be made while trying to catch up on everyone’s day and make sure the dog doesn’t steal all the socks out of the laundry basket (not that we’re dealing with a sock-stealing dog in our house at the moment…).

Instead of reaching for a box of pasta and some jarred sauce, why not try a healthy, vegetable-focused meal that is not only delicious, but extra nutritious too! Bonus, if you are dealing with gluten free, vegan, or dairy-free eaters in your house, this recipe will suit all of them! If you want to please the omnivores, just add some shredded cooked chicken to the mix!When you bite into these soft corn tacos you are rewarded with hearty black beans, spice-coated roasted veggies, and creamy lime and tahini sauce. I love the way the broccoli florets get just a hint of char on their crowns; the red onion melts into gooey jamminess; and the sweet potato and capsicum get just a little sweeter with their time in the oven. When you nestle them all together inside a fluffy taco pocket with a sprinkling of sauce they make my veggie-loving heart sing!

This week don’t settle for something from a takeaway menu or from the freezer section because eating well is easy, delicious, and comes from the heart. Take half an hour to make a vegetable filled family meal that will delight everyone. These tacos are sure to become a regular at your dinner table!

Za’atar Roasted Vegetable and Black Bean Tacos

| vegan | gluten free | serves 2 generously
note: feel free to change up the vegetables to whatever is in season where you live! Just make sure you have enough to fill a medium size sheet pan and that they are all chopped to a similar size.

Ingredients

For the za’atar

• 2 teaspoons dried oregano
• 2 teaspoons  sumac
• 2 teaspoons  cumin
• 2 teaspoons sesame seeds

For the filling

• 1 medium red capsicum
• 1 medium sweet potato
• 2 red onions
• 1 small head broccoli
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 400 gram tin black beans

For the sauce

• 1 tablespoon tahini
• Juice of 1 lime
• Salt and pepper, to taste

To serve

• 4-6 small (gluten free) soft corn tacos
• Coriander leaves, optional

Method

1. Preheat your oven to 180C (350F) and line a medium size sheet pan with baking paper.
2. To make the za’atar mix together the dried oregano, sumac, cumin and sesame seeds. Set aside until required.
3. Core the capsicum and dice into large chunks (~ 2cm/1 inch square). Peel the sweet potato and dice into chunks of a similar size to the capsicum. Peel the onions, halve them, and then chop each half into eight pieces. Chop the broccoli into medium florets.
4. Toss all the veggies into a large bowl and mix together with the olive oil. Add the za’atar mix and coat all the vegetables well.
5. Spread vegetables out over the pre-prepared sheet pan and roast for 20 minutes or until the sweet potato is soft in the middle when you stick a fork in.
6. While the vegetables are cooking warm the black beans over a low heat with a little water. Keep warm until serving.
7. Make the lime and tahini sauce by mixing together the tahini and lime juice with a pinch of salt and pepper. Mix until smooth.
8. When the vegetables are done, warm the tacos.
9. Serve the tacos topped with black beans, roasted vegetables, tahini lime sauce, and a sprinkle of coriander leaves (if using).