Taco Salad with Jackfruit

I've heard from a lot of different people how great jackfruit is, but I am always a little skeptical when I heard about a meat substitute tasting "just like" meat. I could never find jackfruit in my regular grocery store, so I didn't go out of my way to get it. But then when I was ordering groceries online, there it was and it wasn't terribly expensive, so I got it.

I must admit, it does look just like pulled pork or chicken. However, it doesn't taste exactly the same--it's a lot lighter and softer than actual meat. And it also tastes a little bit like artichoke. But it was still really, really good!

Makes 2 salads

Ingredients

All of these amounts were just eyeballed, so adjust the amounts the way you like it.

2 heads lettuce

1 cup cooked brown rice

1 cup black beans

1/2 cup frozen corn

1 cup frozen sliced bell peppers

1 package of jackfruit (about 2 cups)

1 can of organic diced tomatoes or 1-2 fresh tomatoes, chopped

1 small avocado

1 lime

Vegan taco seasoning (to taste)

1 tbs cumin

Directions

Chop and make a bed of lettuce on two plates and set aside.

Heat up large pan on stove on medium-high heat. Add rice, black beans, corn and peppers. Season with cumin and taco seasoning to taste.

Once heated through, push all of the mixture to one side of the pan, then throw down the jack fruit on the other side. You have to smash it apart with a fork to get it to the right texture.

Once the jackfruit is hot, layer the brown rice mixture on top of the lettuce, then the jack fruit, then top with tomatoes and chopped avocado.

I also put some Sriracha on mine when I started to eat it.

#dinner #lunch #salad