For his #100DaysOfGreenNevis project, violinist Andrew Taheny has decided to go vegan!
We first heard from Andrew on day ten of the campaign. You can read his post here where he shares a yummy recipe for apple crumble with vegan custard. Today, it’s jackfruit fajitas!
As the 100 Days of Green Nevis challenge has gone on, I must say that I’ve been getting more and more used to eating vegan! I’ll admit that I still occasionally miss dairy cheese, but the longer I spend looking for vegan alternatives to meat and dairy products, the more I realise that the range of options available is only getting bigger. My latest revelation has been jackfruit (as an alternative to chicken), which I used for these jackfruit fajitas!
Ingredients:
Fajita Seasoning (makes a small batch):
- 1 tablespoon cornflour
- 2 teaspoons chilli powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon white sugar
- ½ teaspoon onion powder (optional)
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
Filling (for two people):
- 1 400g tin jackfruit pieces, drained
- 1 onion, sliced
- 1 red pepper, sliced
Salsa (small batch):
- 4 medium tomatoes, finely chopped
- ½ red onion, finely chopped
- 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
- 1 red chilli, chopped (de-seeded if you aren’t a big spice fan)
- ½ lime, juiced
- Small bunch of coriander, chopped
- Pinch of salt
Guacamole (small batch):
- 2 avocadoes, peeled, pitted and mashed
- 1 or 2 medium tomatoes, finely chopped
- ½ red onion, finely chopped
- 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
- ½ lime, juiced
- Glug of olive oil
- Small bunch of coriander, chopped
- Pinch of salt
- Pinch of cayenne pepper
Other:
- Wraps
- Vegan cheese (I used Violife)
Directions:
- Salsa: Mix all the ingredients in a bowl- that’s it! Probably best to leave in the fridge for a while before for the best flavour
- Guacamole: same as the salsa.
- Mix all the seasoning ingredients in a small tupperware (what you don’t use you can keep for later!)
- Pull the jackfruit pieces apart with two forks
- Fry on a medium heat with a little oil until they start to brown (like chicken!), then add the onion and pepper
- After a couple of minutes, dust over enough of the seasoning mix so that everything is covered. Turn up high and fry until everything is cooked, but not too for too long so that the veggies are still crispy!
- Grate as much of the cheese as you like
- Chuck everything in the wraps as you like them and enjoy!
Andrew has recently been doing some research into the English composer Gerald Finzi and has discovered that Finzi was in fact vegetarian! We’re not sure Finzi would ever have tasted a fajita or jackfruit before but we reckon he would have loved Andrew’s recipe anyway! Here is Finzi’s ‘Elegy’ for Violin and Piano.
From 1 February 2021, Nevis is running #100DaysOfGreenNevis, where our musicians, staff and trustees will each take on a task for 100 days linked to Sustainability. We’d love you to join us, either by following the campaign online to get ideas of what you can do, or to show us you own actions for us to share. If you would like to know more, do get in touch at georgina@nevisensemble.org
Nevis Ensemble’s #GreenNevis campaign in 2019 won the Environmental Sustainability award at the 2020 Scottish Awards for New Music, and was shortlisted for Best Campaign by Julie’s Bicycle.