Social Distancing Series – Jerk Jackfruit Tacos

Jerk Jackfruit

• 2 ‏young green jackfruit in brine (20 oz cans)
• 2 tsp ‏onion powder
• 3 tsp ‏garlic powder
• 2 tsp ‏thyme
• 2 tsp ‏paprika
• 1 1/2 tsp ‏cayenne
• a dash of each ‏cinnamon and nutmeg
• 2 ‏lime
• 3 cups ‏water
• 1 tsp ‏sugar
• 1 tsp ‏salt

Caribbean Black Beans and Corn

• 2 cloves ‏garlic, chopped
• 1 ‏yellow onion, diced
• 1 can (15 oz) ‏black beans
• 1/2 tsp ‏thyme
• 1/4 tsp ‏cayenne
• 1 1/2 tsp ‏salt
• 1/4 cup ‏water
• 1 1/2 tbsp orange juice ‏OR (1 squeezed lime + 1/4 tsp sugar)

Other Items

• 1, chopped or sliced ‏brown onion, medium
• 9 ‏corn tortillas
• 12 oz ‏mango chunks
• 1 ‏jar of mild to medium spice salsa
• ‏sour cream (optional)
• ‏guac (optional)
• ‏cheese (optional)

We’re back! Went on a little break the last few weeks – honestly I thought we’d be cooking way more now that we are all home but I have to confess we just ended up ordering in a lot of Chipotle and picking up from local restaurants.

A part of it is also that our grocery stores are looking a bit grim these days; dairy, produce, and meat are hit or miss causing our trips to the store to be less about what we want to make and more about what they have available. Growing up I remember my mom always buying canned food in bulk from Costco, our garage would have shelves of soups, chili, pasta, rice and we never ran out of anything because when the backups ran low, we’d buy some more to take its place. Looking back at it, my mom really had. Millennials don’t stock up the same way, they tend to buy what they need when they need it and love exploring new recipes often. If this blog wasn’t evident enough, opening our pantry it was clear the only thing that was going to be helpful during this time was my one jar of almond butter and enough pasta sauce for a single meal.

Seeing that there are only so many times you can order out got me thinking. How do I buy items with longer shelf life, that will taste good and that I won’t get bored of? Welcome to my Social Distancing Series where I’ll be putting together recipes with items you can keep stored in your pantry, that you might already have in your pantry, or fresh items that won’t go back immediately (sorry avocados.)

Why I love this recipe: You can get everything here from Trader Joes, most of the items were already in my pantry, it’s meat-free so if you don’t eat meat, can’t eat meat, or can’t find meat, you are good to go! The only fresh produce we used (onions and garlic) have a pretty long shelf life compared to other produce (see above mention of avocados). The ingredients are also very versatile so you won’t end up with a bunch of leftover stuff you can’t use for anything else. Jackfruit was a new ingredient for me but I’ve been hearing so many people talk about how it imitates carnitas, pulled pork, and shredded chicken so I had to see for myself and it did not disappoint. Green jackfruit doesn’t have much flavor on its own and takes up the flavor of spices REALLY well – and I’m a huge critic when it comes to meat replacements. I absolutely will be hoarding up cans of this stuff next time I’m in TJs!

Jackfruit

1. Drain the jackfruit, remove the seeds, squeeze as much liquid out of them with your hands then using a kitchen towel or paper towels, press out as much of the remaining moisture. You can use your hands to shred the pieces up or use a large knife to chop them down.
2. Place all the dry herbs and spices into a small bowl and mix evenly.
3. Heat a tbsp of oil in a pan on medium heat and add the shredded jackfruit. Coat the jackfruit evenly with the mixed dry spices. Stir to mix and cook for 2-3 minutes.
4. Add lime juice, water and sugar, and cook with a lid partially covering the pan for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
   

Caribbean Black Beans and Corn

1. Heat a tbsp of oil in a pan on medium heat. When the pan is hot, add the garlic and onions – cook until the onions are translucent.
2. Add the can of black beans, corn, dry spices, water and your orange juice. If you don’t have orange juice, you can use a lime and some sugar. 
3. Simmer for 10 minutes, stir occasionally.

Other Sides

• To make grilled onions, place a tbsp of oil in a hot pan and cook a diced onion down until translucent. Add a quarter cup of water, it’ll sizzle and continue to cook down until there is no water left. Repeat until your onions are your preferred texture, this process allows your onions to caramelize naturally.
• Chopped mangos compliment the jackfruit really well. I recommend chopping them into small chunks for the tacos.
• A mild jar of salsa works great for this! We accidentally went a little too spicy on the salsa here, whoops! 
• We just happened to have some sharp cheddar in the fridge, it was a nice add but not necessary.
• Not pictured: Sour cream and guac would be fantastic on these, but seeing as those aren’t options right now they don’t make the official Social Distancing Series.

I like to throw my corn tortillas on a small skillet on high heat, just for 30 seconds on each side to warm up the tortillas but not for too long that it makes them hard and crunchy. Then on with the beans and corn, onions, jackfruit, salsa, mango and cheese!

If you guys have any good recipes you’ve been making at home, I’d love to hear about them! Shoot me an email at hello@forevernomday.com 🙂