Roasted Cauliflower Fried Halloumi Tacos with Spicy Avocado Basil Salsa.

Name: Roasted Cauliflower Fried Halloumi Tacos with Spicy Avocado Basil Guacamole
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 35 min
Ingredients: 1 large, or 2 small, heads cauliflower, cut into florets; 2 tablespoons sesame or olive oil; 2 teaspoons smoked paprika; 1 teaspoon chili powder; 1 teaspoon cumin; 1 teaspoon kosher salt and pepper; 1 (14 ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed; 8 ounces halloumi cheese, sliced; 1 cucumber or zucchini, shredded; 1 avocado, halved; 1 cup fresh basil; 1/4 cup toasted pine nuts; 1 jalapeno; juice of 1 lemon; 2 tablespoons sesame oil; kosher salt and pepper

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March 23, 2017

Posted in Gluten-Free, Main Course, Vegan, Vegetarian

Roasted, spiced, cauliflower…pan fried Halloumi…together in a taco topped with spicy avocado basil salsa. <–yes, simply the best veggie taco ever!

Roasted Cauliflower Fried Halloumi Tacos with Spicy Avocado Basil Salsa | halfbakedharvest.com @hbharvest

Seriously you guys, I am in love with these tacos. They’re my new favorite veggie loaded taco.

I am obsessed…

I know, I know – surprise, surprise, I am obsessed with yet another recipe. But it’s true! I feel like these tacos are so me. Loaded with every possible flavor, a mix of both Mexican and Mediterranean cuisine, healthy, but yet cheese is still involved, and a title so long that only I could put it out to the world to view. Yup. This is a Tieghan recipe for sure.

When we were deciding on the cover of the HBH cookbook. Everyone involved was about 98% sold on a giant bowl of pasta for the cover. My thought was how the heck could you go wrong with pasta, it’s always a winner. But when everyone sat down for one last look, my editor expressed that she didn’t feel as though the photo represented everything that I was about…fun, flavorful, and colorful recipes. And that right there is when I realized she totally got me. I’m not one for a colorless recipe and I like my recipes to be loaded.

Soo ahhh, where am I going with this? I don’t really know, but the point is that this here taco recipe is totally ME, and that is why I am so obsessed with it.

OK. So now that I did my mass amount of totally off topic rambles for the day, let me actually tell you about these tacos!

I’m not sure where the idea came from originally, but I know I had the title of the recipe before I actually knew exactly what was going to be involved in the recipe. A lot of times, a recipe title will come to mind and then I build the recipe out from there. I love when this happens because these recipes seem to be some of my favorites!

I’ve made cauliflower tacos before, but today’s taco is different. The cauliflower gets spiced up, roasted, and then tossed with some black beans for an extra protein factor. The key players here though are the “fried” Halloumi cheese and the salsa/guacamole/pesto…I’m not sure which name fits better, but I went with salsa because guacamole was too long and pesto didn’t seem quite right for a taco, so salsa it is!

Anyway, I’m going to go out and say that the cheese is what makes these tacos. I mean, ummmm it’s pan fried cheese. What could not be awesome about that…and in a taco?! Just so many yesssesssssss to that!

You really need the salsa though too, it adds so much. Halloumi cheese is a salty, dry cheese, so the avocado really helps with balancing the two. The combo is really just freaking delicious.

And then as if that was not enough, I thew in a little toasted sesame oil (ahh, because it’s my ingredient obsession at the moment…I think I need to find a new word…hmmm), jalapeño for heat and tons of fresh basil since I was going for a Mexi meets Mediterranean taco kind of vibe. Kind of a lot happening, but promise it’s all so good when combined in these tacos. <–trust me.

Also, I know that these probably should have been posted on a Taco Tuesday, but for some reason I never seem to pull that off. However, I’m feeling like tacos are pretty darn good just about any day of the week, so today, we’re going for Taco Thursday. OR…maybe we do like a Friday Night Taco Party, complete with strawberry Paloma cocktails and Mexican Samoa Cookies for dessert?

Oh my gosh, YES, let’s do that. Maybe we will even make these tacos tomorrow on Facebook Live? Any thoughts? It’s either tacos or yesterday’s pizza, so let me know what you guys are feeling. 🙂

ps. now I am really excited for the weekend and Cinco de Mayo. 🙂

4.48 from 34 votes

Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.

The Recipe

Roasted Cauliflower Fried Halloumi Tacos with Spicy Avocado Basil Guacamole

By halfbakedharvest

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American, Mexican

Keyword: cauliflower taco, halloumi taco, vegetrian taco

These cauliflower tacos are a great vegetarian option for Taco Tuesday!

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Total Time 35 minutes

Servings 4 servings

Calories 602 kcal

Ingredients

1 large, or 2 small, heads cauliflower, cut into florets
2 tablespoons sesame or olive oil
2 teaspoons smoked paprika
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon kosher salt and pepper
1 (14 ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed
8 ounces halloumi cheese, sliced
1 cucumber or zucchini, shredded

Spicy Avocado Basil Guacamole

1 avocado, halved
1 cup fresh basil
1/4 cup toasted pine nuts
1 jalapeno
juice of 1 lemon
2 tablespoons sesame oil
kosher salt and pepper

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
2. On a baking sheet, toss together the cauliflower, oil, paprika, chili powder, cumin, salt and pepper. Transfer to the oven and roast for 20-30 minutes, tossing halfway through cooking. Remove from the oven and stir in the black beans.
3. Meanwhile, make the avocado guacamole. Add half the avocado, basil, pine nuts, jalapeño (remove seeds for less heat), lemon juice and oil to a food processor and pulse until chunky smooth. Dice the remaining avocado half and stir into the pesto. Taste and season with salt and pepper.
4. Heat a small skillet over medium heat and add a drizzle of olive oil. Once hot, add the Halloumi slices and cook for 1-2 minutes per side or until lightly golden. Remove and drain onto paper towels.
5. To assemble, layer the cucumber, zucchini, and cauliflower in the tortillas. Top with fried cheese and guacamole. Enjoy!!

Officially my spring taco of choice. ?

If you make this recipe, be sure to tag your photo #halfbakedharvest.