Photos and styling by Angelina Marie, Short Eared Dog Photography
“I either dream about food or I dream about someone trying to kill me,” says Ruthie Landelius, a caterer at Black Fig Food and proprietor of the online cooking platform Elevated Plant Plate. Lucky for us, she recently dreamed about food. Specifically: tacos.
Landelius dreamed she was in the kitchen, making tacos with her late mother. The ingredients were incredibly colorful. After waking up from these regular food dreams, she tends to write down the dish and ingredients, then do a Google search to see if it’s been done before. “I’m always frustrated when it has,” she says.
That wasn’t the case with these fresh, vegetarian tacos, which include blackberries, pomegranate seeds, avocado and grill-charred corn. “I love all the colors involved. It’s all sorts of warm and cool colors combined together,” she says. “That’s what makes the dish appealing.”
Landelius describes her dishes as a combination of mini-recipes put together—like the salsa, peach-chipotle drizzle and cilantro cream in this dish. “There are lots of components to it,” she says. As a result, these dreamy, colorful tacos are deliciously complex: sweet and sour, creamy and crunchy.
“These are the tacos I made in my dream,” says Landelius. Dreams do come true.
Vegan Dream Tacos
4 ears fresh corn, husks removed
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 (6-ounce) container fresh blackberries, sliced into small rounds
5 to 6 red radishes, julienned
Pomegranate seeds (optional)
1 bunch fresh cilantro, roughly chopped (for cream sauce, peach salsa and garnish)
8 corn tortillas
4 avocados
½ teaspoon garlic salt
Juice of 1 lime
Fresh cracked black pepper
Heat grill for corn. Rub each corn cob with olive oil; set it aside on small plate. Place sliced blackberries, julienned radishes, pomegranate seeds, and chopped cilantro onto separate plate; set aside. Slice avocados in half, remove seed, and scoop out flesh into small bowl. Add garlic salt, lime juice, salt and pepper. Gently mash mixture together; set aside. Grill corn cobs until charred on 2 or 3 sides. Transfer to cutting board. Using chef’s knife, carefully cut kernels from cobs, leaving kernels intact. Add to plate with blackberries, radishes, pomegranate seeds, and chopped cilantro. Set aside until ready to build tacos.
Peach Chipotle Sauce
1 teaspoon olive oil
¼ cup chopped poblano
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
¼ teaspoon chipotle powder
½ cup peach preserves
¼ cup water
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon arrowroot powder (for thickening)
Heat small saucepan over medium-high heat. Add olive oil and poblanos. Saute for a few minutes, then add garlic. Saute for a minute more, careful not to burn garlic, then add chipotle powder and stir. Add peach preserves along with water and whisk until mixture is fully incorporated and smooth as possible. Bring to boil; reduce heat and simmer on low for a few minutes. Whisk in arrowroot and set saucepan aside, off of heat.
Cilantro Cream
1 (12-ounce) container Tofutti Brand Sour Cream
Juice of 2 limes
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
½ teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper
Add sour cream, lime juice, 2 tablespoons fresh chopped cilantro, cayenne, salt and pepper into small mixing bowl. Whisk ingredients together until smooth and creamy. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and chill in refrigerator until ready to serve.
Peach Salsa
3 to 4 ripened but slightly firm peaches, small dice
¼ red onion, finely chopped
½ poblano pepper, seeds, and pith removed, then finely chopped
Juice of 1 lime
Kosher salt and black pepper to taste
Add diced peaches, red onion, poblano pepper, lime juice, salt and pepper into small bowl. Toss together with spoon; set aside.
Assemble Dream Tacos
Lightly char corn tortillas over open flame or grill. Spread 1 to 2 tablespoons mashed avocado onto each tortilla. Add corn, blackberries, pomegranate seeds, radishes and cilantro on top of the avocado. Top with cilantro cream, peach salsa and peach chipotle sauce; serve immediately.
Makes 4 to 6 servings
Learn more about Ruthie Landelius at elevatedplantplate.com and blackfigfood.com. She will begin contributing an ongoing food column called Elevate Your Plate, starting with our September/October issue.
