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The Veggie
It’s my go-to meal for a crowd of vegetarians, or anyone who’d love stuffed pepper tacos, green peach salad with lime dressing and jiggly coconut pudding.
When my friends who don’t eat meat or dairy come over for dinner, I want to shower them with abundance. I want them to take a scoop of all that’s being passed around the table, and I want all the scoops to taste good together. In other words: I want my friends to feast!
There are a few meals that work especially well for a crowd of vegetarians and vegans, and at the top of the list is tacos.
Mexican cooking has always relished vegetables. Indigenous communities mostly ate plants, and today’s chefs are carrying these traditions forward. The exact dishes at a taco night can change based on what’s in season, but follow the formula below and the result is the same: a spirited spread to share. Dig in, everybody.
Two taco fillings
Bricia Lopez’s stuffed pepper tacos don’t necessarily look loaded. (They’re also called “tacos encuerados” or naked tacos because of their minimalism.) It’s awe-inspiring how their few parts can be so layered in flavor and texture: A crispy tortilla gives way to a sweet, charred green pepper, which gives way to salty, gooey cheese.
Stuffed Pepper Tacos
View Recipe.
You could make just one taco filling — there are sides coming, too — but I like to make two fillings that can fill tacos separately or together. These crispy mushroom tacos from Jocelyn Ramirez are on heavy rotation. Nothing says “I love you” like meticulously crisped mushrooms.
One or two salsas
Make a big batch of avocado salsa, pico de gallo or mango salsa — choosing two of different colors if you like — for saucing your tacos and dipping with chips. Appetizer: done.
One to three sides
Figure one to three sides for your feast, depending on the size of your crew. They can be added to the tortillas with the fillings or eaten alongside to fill out the plate.
I love those frizzled mushrooms cushioned by refried beans and the jolt of crunchy chile-dressed fruit, like Eddie Hernandez’s green peach salad with simple lime dressing, after a particularly gooey bite of cheese. While the corn’s sweet, you’ll want esquites, elotes or straight-up grilled corn.
Other sides invited include red rice, zucchini salad, grilled cabbage with paprika-lime butter, roasted sweet potatoes with spinach and feta, slaw and avocado and onion salad.
A drink
Ask someone to make and bring agua de jamaica, tart and ruby red with hibiscus. Drink it straight or with tequila, seltzer or sparkling wine.
A chilled dessert
With great fanfare, unveil a dessert from the fridge or the freezer that you already made, like a jiggly coconut pudding, caramelly cookies-and-cream cake, puckery key lime pie or fruity ice. Cold, cut-up watermelon also counts.
Crispy Mushroom Tacos
View this recipe.
Green Peach Salad With Simple Lime Dressing
View this recipe.
Esquites
View this recipe.
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