Last summer, Dan came across a lovely bunch of leafy, Parisian carrots from Claverach Farm and could not bear to let the greens go to waste. Not wanting a salad, his mind wandered to a pasta sauce or a purée.

A leafy purée that becomes a sauce is nothing but a pesto, and that’s how this light, summery entree evolved. Blanching the green tops of the carrots brings out their milder notes and gives the pesto a bright color. When Dan cut off the green tops from the carrot root, he kept as much of the stem attached to the leafy tops as possible. That created a handle to allow for easy washing, blanching and shocking of the leaves before processing them into pesto.

Carrot-top Pesto with Pasta
6 servings

4 tsp. kosher salt, divided, plus additional for seasoning
1 cup pine nuts
2 bunches baby carrots with green tops attached
8 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
1 lemon, juice and zest
1 cup extra virgin olive oil, plus additional oil for finishing, if desired
4 Tbsp. unsalted butter
1½ cups water
Pinch sugar
1 lb. gemelli pasta or other spiral-shaped pasta

• To a stockpot, add 4 quarts of cold water and 1 teaspoon of salt. Bring to a boil.
• Meanwhile, in a dry skillet over medium heat, toast the pine nuts tossing constantly until fragrant and golden brown. Salt lightly. Remove from skillet and set aside.
• Cut the carrot tops from the carrots, leaving 1 inch of the stems still attached to the leafy carrot tops. Set carrots aside. Rinse the tops by swirling vigorously in the sink. Remove and discard any brown or yellow leaves.
• Place carrot tops in one of the pots of boiling water for 20 seconds, or just until they get color. Transfer to an ice bath to shock. Spin dry or pat dry on a paper towel.
• Drain the water from the stockpot and refill with 4 quarts of fresh cold water. Add 1 teaspoon of salt. Bring to a boil for cooking pasta later.
• Grab the base of the stem and pull off the leafy green tops. Repeat with all of the carrot tops. Discard the stems. Place the green tops in a food processor with the garlic. Add pine nuts. Pulse the green tops, garlic and nuts until finely chopped. Add 1 teaspoon of salt. Add the lemon juice and zest, then slowly pour in the olive oil while the food processor is running. Stop the food processor and use a spatula to scrape down the sides. Continue pulsing until pesto reaches your desired texture. Season to taste with salt.
• Peel carrots, gently wash and cut each in half at bias. Cut lengthwise to get all pieces approximately the same size to allow them to cook evenly.
• In a saute pan over medium-high heat, melt the butter. Add the carrots, 1 teaspoon of salt and a pinch of sugar. Toss to coat carrots in butter. Next, add 1½ cups of water, turn heat to high, and simmer for approximately 5 minutes, until the carrots are al dente.
• In the pot of boiling water, cook 1 pound gemelli (or other spiral-shaped) pasta according to package directions.
• When carrots are cooked, remove from heat and add 1/2 cup of pesto to pan and stir. Season to taste with salt.
• Drain pasta and toss with remaining pesto. Finish with a drizzle of olive oil and additional pesto, if desired.

Several weeks ago I had the pleasure of being a vendor at Art Fest in Richmond Heights. Some of you might have put two and two together, but for those who haven’t, let me quickly complete the equation. Besides stuffing my face all over St. Louis and writing about it for Sauce, I also own a mobile business in which I sell cute vintage things out of a 1960 travel trailer.

See? I told you it’d be quick. Anyway … at this particular event, I knew that we (the vendors) would be getting a lunch, which my brain translated into a bag of chips and a soggy sandwich. So when I was handed a brown box filled with this fresh noodle salad, I was over the moon. It had udon noodles, carrots, lettuce, tofu (bonus!) and a wonderfully spicy sesame dressing that I poured over every bit.

I went home that day knowing I had to recreate it for the summer days ahead, and now, well, here we are! Hope you enjoy!

Cold Noodle Salad with Spicy Sesame Sauce
4 servings

12 oz. extra-firm tofu
7 oz. udon noodles
4 Tbsp. sesame oil
4 Tbsp. soy sauce
2 Tbsp. rice wine vinegar
1 Tbsp. Sriracha
2 cloves garlic, minced
8 hearts of romaine, torn into 1-inch pieces
4 medium carrots, peeled and thinly sliced
½ cup torn cilantro leaves

• Place 6 layers of paper towels on a plate. Remove the tofu from the package and place onto the paper towels. Cover with another 6 layers of paper towels, then place a heavy skillet on top. Let it sit until ready to assemble the salad.
• Bring 2 quarts of water to a boil in a pot. Add the udon noodles and cook 12 minutes.
• Meanwhile, in a liquid measuring cup, whisk together the sesame oil, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, Sriracha and garlic. Set aside.
• Once the noodles are cooked, drain and spray them with cold water until they’re cooled to room temperature. Keep in a colander while slicing the tofu.
• Remove the tofu from the paper towels and slice in half horizontally (making it half as thick). Take those two pieces and cut each into 12 more pieces (or smaller if you want).
• Place the drained noodles in a large bowl. Give the sauce a quick whisk and then pour half of it over the noodles.
• Stir well to make sure all the noodles are covered, then add the romaine, carrots, tofu and the rest of the sauce. Stir again to combine. Top with torn cilantro.
• Place the salad in the refrigerator for 15 to 20 minutes or until it’s chilled to your liking.

I remember one of the first times I went with my now-husband (then-boyfriend) to visit his family in Texas. I had just flipped the vegetarian switch, and now, here I was, going into the lion’s den of meaty cuisine, where nothing is quite right until you slap some beef or bacon on it. We would go out to eat, and I’d be the crazy lady asking the servers if things had been cooked in beef or chicken stock, something they didn’t even think to know because … who cares?

So it’s a testament to my in-laws that, after all those embarrassing questions, they still accepted me into their family with open arms. And now when we go visit, they even scout menus ahead of time to make sure there is something for their quirky daughter-in-law to consume. One of my favorite places down there is a chain (gasp!) taco place called Torchy’s, which serves these amazing mushroom tacos topped with cheese and lettuce and an avocado cream that’s out of this world. Each bite is packed with layer upon layer of flavor, and it’s the standard to which I now hold all vegetarian tacos.

For this recipe, feel free to omit the seitan if soy substitutes still freak you out (although you will miss that meaty texture it gives). And grilling the corn before adding it to the peas would definitely kick things up a notch. But whatever you do, don’t skip the avocado dressing.

Summer Seitan Tacos
Makes 4 to 6 tacos

For the avocado dressing:
1 large ripe Hass avocado, pitted and roughly chopped
¼ cup plain yogurt
½ cup roughly chopped cilantro
1 Tbsp. lime juice
¼ cup water
¼ tsp. salt

• In the bowl of a food processor, combine all ingredients for the avocado dressing.
• Process until smooth and creamy, then taste for seasoning. Add more salt, if needed.
• Pulse a couple times to combine. Transfer to a bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until ready to use.

For the red cabbage slaw:
¼ head red cabbage, shredded
1 cup shredded carrots
3 green onions (white and green parts), chopped
¼ cup rice wine vinegar
½ cup orange juice
¼ cup olive oil
1½ Tbsp. agave nectar
¼ cup cilantro leaves
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

• In a large bowl, combine the cabbage, carrot and green onions.
• In a liquid measuring cup, whisk together the vinegar, orange juice, olive oil and agave.
• Pour the liquid over the cabbage mixture and stir to combine.
• Add the cilantro, season with salt and pepper, and stir to combine again.
• Set aside at room temperature until ready to use.

For the seitan:
8 oz. seitan strips
1 clove garlic, minced
½ tsp. ground cumin
½ tsp. ground paprika
½ tsp. chili powder
2 tsp. vegetable oil
½ onion, finely chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Juice of ½ lime

• Drain the seitan strips. Discard the liquid and place the strips in a medium bowl.
• Add the garlic, cumin, paprika, chili powder and garlic. Stir to make sure the seitan is evenly coated.
• Set aside at room temperature to allow flavors to marry. Meanwhile, prepare the taco filling.
• To cook the seitan, heat the vegetable oil over medium or medium-high heat in a small nonstick skillet. Add the onion, season with salt and pepper, and cook until the onion is softened and translucent, 3 to 5 minutes.
• Add the reserved seitan mixture and lime juice, stir to combine, and cook until seitan is evenly browned, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from heat and keep warm until serving.

For the taco filling:
1 Tbsp. vegetable oil
½ onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 jalapeño, ribs and seeds removed, minced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 can black-eyed peas, drained and rinsed
5 oz. frozen corn
1 cup water
¼ cup chopped cilantro
6 soft-taco-size flour tortillas (check ingredient list to make sure they don’t have lard, or use corn tortillas)

• While the seitan is marinating, heat the vegetable oil in a large stainless skillet over medium or medium-high heat.
• Add the onion, garlic and jalapeño, then season with salt and pepper. Stir, then let the mixture cook until the onions are softened, 3 to 4 minutes.
• Add the black-eyed peas, corn and water. Turn the heat to high to bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat back to medium-high and simmer until the liquid has evaporated, 10 to 12 minutes.
• Add the cilantro, then taste the mixture and season again with salt and pepper if needed. Remove it from the heat while you cook the seitan.

Toppings:
4 oz. goat cheese crumbles
3 radishes, thinly sliced (optional)
Sriracha

• To assemble the tacos, put a tortilla on a plate. Top with the slaw, then the black-eyed pea and corn mixture, seitan, goat cheese and radishes (if using).
• Drizzle with avocado dressing and drops of Sriracha.

Part of our mini-tour through Paris, London and Dublin involved a little reprieve into the countryside with a two-night stay in Bath. In Bath, the pace was slower, there weren’t so many cars to dodge and we never had to hop on and off The Underground. Yet, there was still a plethora of history and architecture to admire every day — and delicious food to eat!

My favorite place was a little tea room called Bea’s, which was recommended to us by a local resident. When we walked in, it was like stepping back into the 1940s: lots of vintage lace and embroidered tablecloths, a mixed assortment of vintage teacups and saucers stacked on tea carts and comfort food that was simple but flavorful.

We ate many things during that visit, but what left a lasting impression on me was the soup. Big chunks of carrot and potato simmered with herbs and spices in a light vegetable broth that wasn’t too heavy for these suddenly spring-turned-summer nights. In my version, I couldn’t help but add a slew of other vegetables too, but the final feel of the dish stays true to its inspiration.

Summery Spring Vegetable Soup
Makes 6 to 8 servings

5 cups vegetable stock
2 medium unpeeled potatoes (any kind you prefer), halved and sliced
1 large unpeeled carrot, sliced
¼ cup uncooked brown rice
2 Tbsp. butter
1 leek, sliced
8 oz. white button mushrooms, sliced
1 tsp. dried thyme
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
10 stalks asparagus, tough ends removed, sliced in 1-inch pieces
2 cups chopped spinach
3 cups milk

• In a large pot, bring the vegetable stock to a boil. Add the slices of potatoes and carrots and the rice. Reduce to a simmer and cover.
• Cook until potatoes are just tender, about 15 minutes.
• Meanwhile, in a large pan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the slices of leeks and mushroomss and the thyme. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Saute the vegetables until just tender, and then add the entire contents of the pan plus the asparagus and spinach to the potato-carrot mixture in the pot.
• Add the milk, and season again with salt and pepper to taste.
• Simmer, uncovered, for another 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Serve in bowls with slices of crusty bread.

On our first night in London, we had just arrived by car from the Portsmouth seaside and were beyond tired (Reversing all the traffic rules you’ve ever known while driving somewhere you’ve never been will do that.). Unfortunately, we were also very hungry, so we dropped our bags at the hotel and wandered down the street to the first pub we could find. It was called The Prince Edward Public House and Kitchen, and at first glance, it looked like a typical pub — dark wood, a bar brimming with beer options, bowls of pistachios and lots of TV screens showing lots of “football.”

Then we ordered dinner, and, suddenly, the word typical no longer applied. I ordered the butternut squash, which arrived tender, wrinkly and stuffed with arugula, roasted cherry tomatoes and goat cheese. On the side was an asparagus-mushroom pilaf. Instead of slicing the squash lengthwise as we often do over here, this one was sliced off at the neck, leaving the bottom, bowl-like third an edible serving vessel. And the flavor the chef was able to get into all that orange-y flesh was astounding. Hopefully I’ve done it justice!

Roasted Butternut Squash with Cherry Tomatoes and Goat Cheese
2 servings

2 small butternut squashes
1 pint cherry tomatoes
2 Tbsp. unsalted butter
2 pinches salt
2 pinches freshly ground black pepper
2 pinches freshly grated nutmeg
Olive oil
2 oz. goat cheese
1 handful arugula

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
• Cut the neck off each squash, leaving just the bowl-shaped bottom. Scrape out the seeds with a spoon.
• Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil, spray with nonstick spray and place the squash bowls on it. Place 1 tablespoon of butter in each squash, then season with salt, pepper and nutmeg. Brush the rim of each bowl with olive oil.
• Put the squashes in the oven and let them roast until the sides start to wrinkle and the insides are very tender, about 25 to 35 minutes, depending on the sizes of the squashes.
• Meanwhile, in a bowl, coat the cherry tomatoes with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Place on a rimmed, foil-lined baking sheet and then place in the oven 10 minutes before the squashes are finished.
• Once the squashes and cherry tomatoes are properly roasted, remove from oven, but keep oven on. Set tomatoes aside. Pour out all but a teaspoon of butter from each squash bowl, and then place 3 to 4 quarter-size pieces of goat cheese (about 1 ounce) in each one. Return them to the oven and roast another 3 to 4 minutes, until the cheese softens.
• Remove from oven and place 3 to 4 cherry tomatoes in each bowl, followed by a few arugula leaves, then the rest of the cherry tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
• Serve with salad or rice pilaf.

You’re a fabulous foodie. But every now and then, you crave an offering from the food court – something you can hold in both hands and tear into without shame, or napkins. The mall gyro, with its salty feta, tangy tzatziki and pillowy pita, calls to me. I decided to create a vegetarian version at home, away from the scary mall meat.

Traditional gyros are made with piles of spicy lamb. Would piles of sauteed mushrooms satisfy? Nope. Shiitake mushrooms were too rubbery. Portobellos have a better texture but a ho-hum flavor. Perhaps using the same spices that season gyro meat would help. Problem solved. Marinating the portobellos in olive oil plus cumin, oregano, smoked paprika, salt and pepper gave my mushrooms an intriguing, snarf-worthy flavor.

I then wondered if my favorite meze, saganaki (aka fried cheese), could be just as tasty. Kasseri is a Greek sheep’s milk cheese that browns and melts beautifully, so I figured I’d start there. The steps for frying cheese are pretty basic: Heat oil. Coat cheese in flour and beaten egg. Sear cheese in oil. On my first try, the hot olive oil smoked up the kitchen and triggered the smoke alarm. More tragically, the eggs didn’t coat the cheese evenly. And the uncoated bits of cheese dissolved into lumpy, flour-packed puddles.

I’d been using olive oil, but canola oil has a higher smoke point, which significantly reduces your chances of a visit from the fire department. That was an easy fix, but what could I do about the uneven coating? Since I had watched streaks of egg white literally slide off the frying cheese, the fault laid in my slap-dash egg beating. For the second trial, I beat the eggs with a hand mixer, so the yolks and whites were fully blended. And instead of flour, I took a cue from Mai Lee chef Qui Tran, who dredges his tofu in cornstarch. Finally, I had foolproof fried cheese perfection. But I still used the  stove-top exhaust.

The last head-scratcher was the tzatziki. Most recipes require de-seeding cucumbers and draining the sour cream/yogurt over cheesecloth. Who has time for that? Instead, I sliced a seedless cucumber and gave the slices a cursory pat with paper towels. As for the sour cream and yogurt, I just drained the liquid from the containers. The resulting tzatziki was slightly more watery than restaurant tzatziki but totally passable. To satisfy a texture purist, thicken it with whipped feta. Yes, feta tzatziki on top of fried Kasseri is too much of a good thing. But isn’t that what the food court is all about?

Veggie Gyros
4 Servings

1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
2 oz. plus ¼ cup feta crumbles, divided*
½ cup sour cream, liquid poured off the top
½ cup non-fat Greek yogurt, liquid poured off the top
¼ tsp. freshly minced garlic
1 large seedless cucumber, peeled, thinly sliced and set on paper towels to dry
4 white-flour pitas
1 head romaine hearts, chopped
Portobello Filling (recipe follows)
2 Roma tomatoes, sliced
Half of a large red onion, thinly sliced

• Add the lemon juice and 2 ounces of feta to the bowl of a food processor fitted with the chopping blade. Pulse until the feta is creamy, scraping down the sides as necessary. Add the sour cream, yogurt, garlic and half of the cucumber slices, and pulse 3 or 4 times, until the tzatziki is barely blended. Pour into a bowl and stir in the remaining cucumber slices. Refrigerate at least 1 hour.
• Divide the pitas between 4 plates. Divide the romaine and filling of your choice evenly among them. Top with the tomatoes, onions, tzatziki and remaining ¼ cup of feta.
• Serve immediately.

* Don’t want feta in your tzatziki? Just add ¼ teaspoon of salt to the sauce.

Portobello Filling

¼ tsp. white pepper
¼ tsp. black pepper
½ tsp. salt
½ tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. oregano
1 tsp. smoked paprika
6 oz. (2 to 3 large) portobello mushroom caps
½ cup olive oil
1 tsp. freshly minced garlic

• Mix the first 6 ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.
• Rinse, but don’t de-gill, the portobellos. Pat dry, and cut into ½-inch-thick slices.
• Place the mushrooms, oil, garlic and 1 teaspoon of the spice mixture in a quart-size Ziploc bag. Seal and let the mushrooms marinate at room temperature for 20 minutes.
• Heat a cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. When the skillet is very hot, add the mushrooms (with their marinade). Reduce heat to medium and saute until the mushrooms are soft and slightly browned on both sides, about 5 minutes.

Kasseri Cheese Filling

2 large eggs
½ cup cornstarch
6 oz. cold Kasseri cheese*
¼ cup canola oil

• Using a hand-held mixer, beat the eggs on medium speed until they are foamy and the whites are fully incorporated.
• Pour the cornstarch into a Ziploc bag.
• Remove the Kasseri cheese from the refrigerator and cut into ½-inch thick slices. Place the cheese in the Ziploc bag with the cornstarch and shake until it’s well coated.
• Heat the oil in a cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat until a drop of water splatters. Working in batches if necessary, dip the cheese slices into the beaten egg, then carefully drop them into the oil. Cook until golden brown, 60 to 90 seconds per side. Carefully remove the cheese from the oil with a heat-proof slotted spoon.

* Available at Dierbergs, 8450 Eager Road, Brentwood, 314.962.9009, dierbergs.com

— photo by Carmen Troesser

Last week my husband and I returned from the trip of a lifetime (Although I’m hoping it will happen at least once more!). We spent 17 days roaming around Paris, London and Dublin, getting our fill of art, history and, most importantly, delicious, mind-blowing food. The camera on my phone hardly rested as I snapped photos of my meatless meals throughout the trip. For the next few weeks, I thought it would be fun to try and recreate some of my favorites.

This week I’m starting with one of the best salads I’ve ever had. It came from a little cafe in Paris called Le Petit Cler, situated on a cobblestone pedestrian road among shops and flower stalls (Yes, it was as dreamy as it sounds.). Although simple in ingredients, the freshness and flavor of this spinach-based dish had me practically licking the bowl.

Spring Spinach Salad
4 Servings

For the Salad:

8 cups baby spinach, washed and patted dry
4 cups trimmed, halved and blanched green beans
12 Campari tomatoes, quartered
Dressing (recipe follows)
2 cups prepared brown lentils
2 cups freshly shaved Parmesan
4 large eggs, soft-boiled
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

• In each of 4 bowls, place 2 cups of spinach, 1 cup of green beans and 3 quartered tomatoes. Drizzle with 1/8 cup of dressing (or more to taste) and stir to combine.
• Top with ½ cup of shaved Parmesan, followed by 1 egg. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

For the Dressing:
½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 Tbsp. plus 2 tsp. red wine vinegar
1 Tbsp. plus 1½ tsp. sugar
1 minced garlic clove
1/8 tsp. salt
8 grinds black pepper

• Place all of the ingredients in a lidded jar. Screw on the lid and shake vigorously for about 1 minute.
• Place in the refrigerator for a minimum of 45 minutes to let the flavors marry.

Like so many dishes that have become staples in international cuisine, the history of the Caesar salad – and who first brought it to life – isn’t 100-percent clear. The most widely accepted story circles around Caesar Cardini, an Italian immigrant who lived in San Diego and opened a restaurant in Tijuana, Mexico during Prohibition. According to his daughter, Cardini created the salad on a particularly busy night when supplies had run out.

In the many decades since that fortuitous night, chefs, home cooks and foodies the world over have adapted the classic into too many variations to count, but the original recipe, interestingly enough, didn’t even use the anchovies that are standard in today’s version. So, technically, this vegetarian could have just told you to buy some vegetarian Worcestershire, leave out the little fish and call it a day. But that’d be too easy.

Instead, I’m going to put you to work, starting with making your own croutons, which, if you haven’t done so already, couldn’t be simpler. And once you taste a fresh batch from the oven, you won’t even glance at the bagged variety again, especially since this DIY project is the perfect way to use up that day-old bread currently drying out on your counter. As for the dressing, I chose to go with the creamy, mayonnaise-based variety to help balance the bitterness of the kale. (Yes, the nutrient-packed green is in here … and it’s raw … and you’ll like it.) And pinch-hitting for the anchovies will be another edible from the murky waters below: kombu. This dried Japanese seaweed supplies that force of fishy flavor that vegetarians and carnivores come to expect with a Caesar salad. Meat-a-tarians can just close their eyes and pretend it’s the real deal.

Find the recipe for Kale “Caesar” Salad, here.

Some nights the husband comes home and wants a big, juicy steak, especially once the weather gets warmer and the grill is ready to emerge from its winter hibernation. On these nights, I have to admit, the idea of something smothered in a flavorful marinade and later dipped in steak sauce sounds pretty darn good. But what’s a vegetarian to do? Easy. Remember the fungus among us! Portobello caps are a great steak alternative. They have a meaty texture; they can absorb flavors really well, and they can stand up to the high heat of a grill (or a grill pan, in this case). Served over some simply prepared roasted vegetables, this is a hearty dish you’ll come back to again and again.

Portobello Steaks with Roasted Potatoes and Brussels Sprouts
4 servings

½ cup soy sauce
6 Tbsp. honey
2¼ tsp. crushed red pepper flakes, divided
9 cloves garlic, minced, divided
2 tsp. lemon juice
½ tsp. ground ginger
1½ Tbsp. dry sherry
4 portobello mushrooms, stems and gills removed
1 lb. fingerling potatoes, halved
1 lb. Brussels sprouts, outer leaves removed, halved
2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Steak sauce

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
• In a liquid measuring cup, whisk together the soy sauce, honey, 2 teaspoons of red pepper flakes, 6 cloves of minced garlic, lemon juice, ginger and sherry.
• Place the mushroom caps in a shallow dish and pour the marinade over them, making sure they’re evenly coated. Let the caps sit for about 10 minutes, then flip them over and marinate for another 10 minutes. Set aside.
• Meanwhile, lightly coat a rimmed baking sheet with oil. In a large mixing bowl, add the potatoes, Brussels sprouts, olive oil, three cloves of minced garlic and ¼ teaspoon of red pepper flakes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Use hands to thoroughly combine the ingredients, making sure the vegetables are evenly coated. Pour the vegetables onto the baking sheet and bake until potatoes are lightly browned and sprouts are starting to char, about 35 minutes, stirring once halfway through.
• When the vegetables have about 10 minutes left to roast, heat a nonstick grill pan to high heat. Place mushrooms caps underside-down and grill for 4 to 5 minutes. Flip over and grill for another 4 to 5 minutes. Remove to a platter and let sit for 2 to 3 minutes before slicing.
• Serve over roasted vegetables with a side of your favorite steak sauce.

Okay, confession time: Sometimes I miss Taco Bell; specifically, the Double Decker taco. Yes, I know both Taco Bell and said taco still exist, but after going vegetarian so many years ago, I’ve hardly crossed the border since there aren’t many meat-free options. So for those nights that I want that wondrous combination of crunchy and soft, I make the following recipe, subbing a combination of meatless crumbles and chickpeas for the ground beef and leaving everything else pretty much the same. Just be sure and check the tortilla ingredients to make sure they’re not made with lard.

Double-Decker Tacos
Makes 8 tacos

1 lb. meatless ground beef crumbles
1 pkg. taco seasoning mix
1 can chickpeas
1 can vegetarian refried beans
½ cup milk
8 soft taco-size tortillas
8 hard taco shells
1 large tomato, diced
Lettuce, shredded
Shredded cheese (cheddar or Monterey Jack)
Sour cream
Sriracha

• In a lightly oiled medium nonstick skillet, cook the meatless ground beef crumbles until they begin to brown.
• In a large nonstick skillet, prepare the taco seasoning mix according to directions, subbing the meatless crumbles and chickpeas for the ground beef.
• Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat, combine the refried beans and the milk. Stir to combine and cook until heated through. If the mixture is ready before the taco filling, cover and turn heat to lowest setting until ready to serve.
• To assemble the tacos, spread about 2 tablespoons of refried beans on a soft taco shell and then wrap the taco shell around one hard taco shell. Place the taco filling inside the hard shell, followed by the tomatoes, lettuce, cheese, sour cream and Sriracha (all amounts to taste).