eclaire (what’s in a) name?

after making hummus for a recent party, we had some leftover chick peas hanging out in our fridge. trying to think about the best way to utilize them, i remembered this unique recipe.

this is perhaps the fastest meal (aside from a peanut butter and jelly sandwich) that i’ve ever made. you don’t have to cook anything – except for heating a tortilla or two if you like them warm – and it comes together in just a few minutes.

a mash of an avocado, a squeeze of a lime, a few chops of cilantro and garlic, and voila! a meal is created!

i can understand if you’re a little skeptical, though, when you read through this recipe, because i was skeptical as well. i wondered if the tacos would be too cold since you don’t heat anything (they’re not). i thought i would miss the pinto/black/refried beans that i usually put into tacos (i didn’t). i wondered if the meal would fill me up (it did, especially with some chips to dip in the extra salsa and carrot sticks on the side).

what i didn’t wonder about was if i would like the ingredients, because (chick peas aside), they’re my favorite parts of “normal” tacos – avocado, (soy) sour cream, salsa, lime, cilantro – all delicious components. i think you’ll agree with me once you’ve tried this recipe that chick pea tacos are the perfect change of pace from traditional tacos.

so why not make this tuesday a chick pea taco tuesday?

chick pea tacos

adapted from vegetarian times, march 2008
yields 4 servings

• 1 avocado
• 1 can chick peas (garbanzo beans), rinsed and drained
• 4t lime juice
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 3T cilantro, finely chopped
• salt and pepper to taste
• 8 corn or 4 flour tortillas
• lettuce, optional
• salsa, optional
• (soy) sour cream, optional
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1. cut the avocado in half, remove the pit, score the avo into pieces (by cutting vertically then horizontally), and push the contents out into a bowl
2. mash the avocado until just a few chunks remain
3. add chick peas, lime juice, garlic, cilantro, and salt and pepper to taste, and stir to combine
4. heat a frying pan and place your corn or flour tortillas in the pan for a few minutes per side to warm them up
5. spoon 1/4 of the chick pea mixture into either one flour or into two corn tortillas (1/8 each in this case)
6. top with lettuce, salsa, and soy sour cream if desired
7. serve with chips for dipping into the rest of the salsa and sliced veggies, if desired, and enjoy!