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Smoky Chickpea and Butternut Squash Tacos with Avocado and Lime

Soft mini tortillas filled with smoky pan-fried butternut squash and crispy chickpeas, creamy avocado, tomato, red onion, green chilli and a squeeze of lime. A colourful vegan dinner with 17g of fibre, ready in 25 minutes.

Dinner

25

Serves 2 (3 tacos each)

A row of soft tacos filled with avocado, roasted squash cubes, crispy chickpeas, tomato, red onion, sliced green chilli and coriander on a wooden board, with a hand squeezing lime over them

Ingredients

  • 200g/7oz ready-prepared butternut squash, cut into 1.5cm (½in) cubes
  • 1 x 400g (14oz) tin chickpeas, drained, rinsed and patted dry (about 240g/8½oz drained)
  • 2 tsp (10ml) olive oil
  • 1 tsp smoked paprika, 1 tsp ground cumin and ½ tsp garlic granules
  • 6 mini soft tortillas, corn or wholemeal (about 12 to 15cm/5 to 6in across, about 20g each, 120g/4oz in total)
  • 1 small ripe avocado (about 100g/3½oz flesh), sliced
  • 1 large tomato (about 100g/3½oz), diced
  • ¼ small red onion (about 30g/1oz), finely chopped
  • 1 green chilli (about 10g), thinly sliced (deseed it for less heat)
  • A small bunch of coriander (cilantro) (about 10g), leaves picked
  • 1 lime: half for juice, half cut into wedges
  • 1 tbsp (15ml) water, for microwaving
  • ¼ tsp salt and a pinch of black pepper

Method

  1. Put the squash in a microwaveable bowl with 1 tbsp of water, cover with a plate and microwave on high for 4 minutes, until just tender. Drain off any water.
  2. Heat the oil in a large non-stick frying pan (skillet) over a medium to high heat. Add the squash and chickpeas and fry for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring now and then, until the squash is golden and the chickpeas are starting to crisp. Add the paprika, cumin, garlic granules, salt and pepper for the last minute.
  3. Meanwhile, mix the tomato, red onion and half the coriander with a squeeze of lime juice.
  4. Warm the tortillas in a second dry frying pan for about 20 seconds on each side, or wrap them in a clean damp tea towel and microwave for 30 seconds.
  5. Lay a few slices of avocado on each tortilla, spoon over the squash and chickpeas, then top with the tomato salsa, green chilli and the rest of the coriander. Squeeze over the remaining lime juice and serve with the lime wedges, 3 tacos each.

Why it works

Three tacos give you about 17g of protein and 17g of fibre for 534 calories, from the chickpeas, squash and avocado.

Why it is quick. Microwaving the squash for a few minutes before frying means it turns golden in the pan in about 10 minutes, at the same time as the chickpeas crisp. Patting the chickpeas dry helps them crisp rather than steam.

Why butternut squash. Like sweet potato, butternut squash is rich in beta-carotene, which the body turns into vitamin A, and it adds sweetness that works well with smoked paprika and lime.

Not tagged for blood sugar. With 62g of carbohydrate from the tortillas, chickpeas and squash, this meal is above our 55g limit for the blood sugar tag, even though its fibre slows how quickly it is absorbed. Use 4 tortillas instead of 6 (2 larger tacos each) for about 53g of carbohydrate and about 475 calories.

Contains wheat (gluten) if you use wholemeal tortillas. Free from milk, eggs, nuts, peanuts, soya and sesame as written, but tortilla recipes vary, so check the label. Many UK corn tortillas also contain wheat flour, so choose ones labelled gluten-free if you need them to be. For another vegan taco, try the sweet potato and black bean tacos.