Authentic vegetarian tacos become reality with canned jackfruit. This large tropical fruit is deceptively meat like in texture, with a sweet, impressionable flavour. It takes on a warm, smoky taco taste in this recipe. Grill it, shred it and pile it into tortillas to be topped with onion, coriander, sour cream and the upfront heat of a Cider Pepper Syrup.
For the Cider Pepper Syrup, mix all the ingredients in a small saucepan and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat and let it stand for at least 4 hours, or overnight. Strain through a fine sieve then cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
For the Jackfruit Tacos, mix the jackfruit, coconut sugar, lime juice, oil, Paprika, Garlic Granules, White Pepper and Cinnamon in large bowl. Let it marinate for 20 minutes.
Grill the marinated jackfruit and tortillas quickly over a high heat until grill marks appear. Shred or cut jackfruit into thin strips.
To serve, place the jackfruit on the tortillas. Top with the diced onion, sour cream and coriander and then drizzle with the Cider Pepper Syrup.
CHEF’s TIP
!
Jackfruit is a large tropical fruit with bumpy, green skin and yellow-orange, fleshy pods that surround large, white edible seeds that can be boiled, baked or roasted. It can be consumed in its unripe and ripe state, and has a distinctively sweet and fruity aroma compared to that of pineapple, papaya and banana, with a sweet, bland flavour. Unripe jackfruit is often used in curries and stir fries, while ripe jackfruit is generally used in desserts. Since jackfruit does not keep long after harvesting, it is often preserved by canning. In the UK jackfruit is most readily available canned, found in Asian markets or online specialty stores.
