Seven-Layer Mexican Feast

Sometimes I get jealous of what my partner without food sensitivities is able to eat. Take tacos, for instance. Once in a while I too would like to have a crunchy corn tortilla stuffed with savory fillings. Last night I made taco fixings for the taco eater, and was going to do my own version using lettuce to wrap, when I decided instead to layer up the fillings and eat them like that - and I did not envy the tacos any more, because my plate of flavor was so delicious.

So, I give to you the seven-layer mexican feast. You can always add or subtract whatever layers you like, or make them on their own for other purposes (like stuffing in your corn tortillas). I made mine vegan-style but you can also add cheese here, or sour cream, if it tickles your fancy:

Seven-Layer Mexican Feast
(the first step is to soak a cup of cashews if you haven't done this already - for the jalapeno cream)



Layer 1: Mashed Sweet Potato
1 large sweet potato, chopped
salt
1 tbsp or so sesame oil (optional)

Peel and dice the sweet potato and boil till tender. Drain and mash with salt and sesame oil (optional, and definitely not Mexican, but tasty).


Layer 2: Refried Beans
1/2 large onion, chopped
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
2-3 cloves garlic, chopped
2 tbsp cumin
1 tbsp or so chili powder
salt to taste
olive oil
water as needed

Heat about a tablespoon of olive oil in a small pot on medium heat. Saute onion in oil till soft. Add beans, garlic and spices and mix well to coat, then roughly mash beans with a potato masher, keeping pot on the heat (the beans can be as coarse or as fine as you like them). Continue to cook mixture over low heat while preparing the rest of the layers, stirring occassionally and adding water as needed to maintain the right consistency. Season with salt and extra chili if needed.

Layer 3: Sauteed Vegetables
1/2 onion, thinly sliced
1/2 cup broccoli in small florets
1/2 cup cauliflower in small florets
6 mushrooms, thickly sliced
olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
salt and pepper

Saute onion in olive oil over med-low heat until golden and soft. Add the other vegetables and garlic, and cover pan, stirring occassionally, till veggies are tender. Season with salt and pepper

Layer 4: Taco Nut Meat (from my Raw and Refreshing Tacos)
1/2 cup walnuts (unsoaked)
1/2 cup almonds (unsoaked)
1 tbsp coriander seeds (I had no coriander and substituted chili powder)
1 tbsp cumin
pinch of cayenne
2 tbsp olive oil
salt to taste

Process nuts using a food processor or spice/coffee grinder till coarse, do not overprocess. With a spice grinder you will need to do several small batches and every so often tip out the nuts at the top into the lid of the grinder and scoop out the fine nut meal around the blade into a bowl. Using a grinder, I finely grind about 1/2 the nuts into meal and the rest I chop by hand so that I have both fine and coarse nuts in my mixture... Scoop the nut mixture into a bowl, add the oil. spices and salt and mix, adjust flavors, and set aside. It will keep on its own in the fridge for four days.


Layer 5: Salsa
3 large tomatoes
1 jalapeno pepper
1/4 cup cilantro
juice of 1/2 lime
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 tbsp olive oil
salt to taste

Roughly chop one tomato and place in a blender. Finely chop the other 2 tomatoes and place in a bowl. Cut the jalapeno in half and scrape out the seeds (you can leave a few if you like hot salsa). Roughly chop and add to blender with lime juice, garlic and olive oil. Blend till smooth, then add to the chopped tomatoes, stir and add in cilantro and salt. You may want to add more lime juice to taste.

Layer 6: Guacamole
1 ripe avocado
juice of 1/2 lime
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
1/8 cup chopped cilantro
salt to taste

Mash avocado with lime and garlic, then add your salt and cilantro and adjust to taste.

Layer 7: Jalapeno Cream
1 cup  cashews, soaked 1/2 hour to an hour
2 tbsp lemon juice or lime juice
1 jalapeno, with a few seeds, depending on your heat preference
about 1/4 cup water, or more as needed
salt to taste


Place all ingredients in a blender and blend till smooth. Adjust seasoning. This will thicken once refrigerated. Keeps well in the fridge for about 4 days, and is great on sandwiches or as a dip for veggies.

Assembly:
Start with a layer of sweet potato on your plate, then pile on the other fixings as you see fit. This is a great thing to serve for guests where everyone gets to put together their own meal...AND it makes wonderful leftovers for lazy supper the next day!