Chimichurri Tacos with Grain-Free Chickpea Tortillas

Name: Chimichurri Tacos
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 40 min
Yield: 4 servings (about 8 tacos)
Cuisine: Mexican
Ingredients: 1 cup chickpea flour; 1 cup water; 1/2 tsp salt; 1/2 tsp baking soda; 2 tsp minced green onion; 1 Tbsp avocado oil; 1 zucchini, chopped; 8 mushrooms, chopped; 2 cups Swiss chard, chopped; 1 cup cooked shredded chicken; 1 tsp salt; 1 to 2 avocados, sliced, for topping; 1/2 cup fresh cilantro; 1/2 cup fresh oregano leaves; 8 fresh basil leaves; 1 green onion; 1/4 cup lime juice; 1/4 cup olive oil; 1 tsp salt; 2 Tbsp water

Chimichurri tacos on grain-free chickpea tortillas topped with herb chimichurri sauce and sliced avocado

This recipe came out of my garden.

I spent 100 days eating food I grew myself, and that kind of challenge changes the way you cook. You stop planning meals in advance and start looking at what is ready to pick. One night it was zucchini, Swiss chard, mushrooms, and more soft herbs than I knew what to do with.

The herbs became chimichurri. The vegetables became taco filling. And because I was eating grain free that season, the tortillas came out of a bag of chickpea flour instead of a bag of masa.

I did not expect a bright green herb sauce on a taco to work as well as it does. The lime and olive oil cut straight through the warm, savory filling, and the whole plate tastes brighter than you would guess from the ingredient list.

Why Chickpea Flour Makes Such a Good Tortilla

Chickpea flour is ground dried chickpeas. That is the whole ingredient list. Cooks in India and around the Mediterranean have been pouring a thin chickpea batter onto a hot surface for a very long time, and it turns out that same batter makes a lovely soft tortilla.

What makes it easy is that it sets up on its own. There is no gluten to develop, no dough to rest, and no rolling pin involved. You whisk flour and water together, pour, and cook.

It also brings protein and fiber to the taco shell, which is not something most tortillas can say. The tortilla ends up doing more than holding the filling together, and the meal feels more satisfying because of it.

Aim for a batter that looks like thin pancake batter. If it thickens while it sits, whisk in water a spoonful at a time until it pours easily again.

Chimichurri, and Why It Belongs on a Taco

Traditional chimichurri is Argentinian. Parsley and oregano, garlic, vinegar, olive oil, spooned over grilled meat.

Mine is a garden version. Cilantro, oregano, basil, and green onion, with lime juice standing in for the vinegar. The cilantro and lime pull it toward the taco side of the world, and the oregano and olive oil keep it recognizably chimichurri.

The reason it works on a taco is contrast. The filling is warm, soft, and savory. The sauce is cool, sharp, and green. Put them together and each one tastes like more of itself.

Do not blend it to a smooth puree. You want it loose and a little textured so it drapes over the filling instead of soaking into the tortilla.

What Goes in the Filling, and Why

Zucchini and mushrooms cook down quickly and give the filling body without making it heavy. Cook them first and let them brown a little. That browning is where the savory flavor comes from.

Swiss chard goes in near the end. It wilts in about a minute and the stems keep just enough bite to make the filling interesting. Spinach, kale, or beet greens all work the same way if that is what is ready in your garden.

Shredded cooked chicken turns it into dinner. This is a wonderful place for leftover roast chicken, and using it means the filling comes together in about the time it takes to cook the tortillas.

The avocado goes on at the very end, never in the pan. It is there for creaminess, and heat ruins it.

Real Food and Your Teeth

I am a dentist, so I will say the obvious thing. What you eat shows up in your mouth.

Your enamel is built out of minerals, mostly a compound called hydroxyapatite, which is calcium and phosphate stacked into a crystal. Your body can only build with the materials you hand it. Meals made from vegetables, quality protein, and real fats supply the minerals your body works with every day.

That is a big part of why I care so much about what comes out of the garden. Whole food is not a treatment for anything. It is the raw material, and I would rather hand my body good raw material to work with.

The other reason is simpler. It tastes better.

How to Serve These

I set the whole thing out and let everyone build their own. Tortillas stacked under a clean towel, filling still warm in the skillet, chimichurri in a small bowl with a spoon, avocado sliced at the last minute.

A wedge of lime on the side is worth it. So is an extra spoonful of chimichurri stirred into whatever else is on the plate.

If you are feeding a crowd, double the tortilla batter but leave the sauce alone. A little chimichurri goes a long way.

Swaps That Work

No chicken? Leave it out and add a second zucchini, or stir in a cup of cooked beans instead.

No Swiss chard? Spinach, kale, or beet greens all work. Chop the tougher stems small and give them an extra minute in the pan.

No fresh oregano? Use parsley, which is what traditional chimichurri calls for anyway, and add half a teaspoon of dried oregano.

No blender? Chop everything very fine by hand and stir it together with the oil and lime. That is how this sauce was made long before blenders existed.

From Dr. Michelle's Kitchen

Chimichurri Tacos

By Dr. Michelle Jorgensen

Grain-free chickpea flour tortillas filled with sauteed zucchini, mushrooms, Swiss chard, and shredded chicken, then finished with a bright garden herb chimichurri and sliced avocado.

Servings4 servings (about 8 tacos)

Prep Time20 min

Cook Time20 min

Total Time40 min

CuisineMexican

CategoryMain Course

Ingredients

Grain-Free Chickpea Tortillas

1 cup chickpea flour
1 cup water
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp minced green onion

Taco Filling

1 Tbsp avocado oil
1 zucchini, chopped
8 mushrooms, chopped
2 cups Swiss chard, chopped
1 cup cooked shredded chicken
1 tsp salt
1 to 2 avocados, sliced, for topping

Garden Chimichurri Sauce

1/2 cup fresh cilantro
1/2 cup fresh oregano leaves
8 fresh basil leaves
1 green onion
1/4 cup lime juice
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tsp salt
2 Tbsp water

Directions

Grain-Free Chickpea Tortillas

Whisk the chickpea flour, water, salt, baking soda, and minced green onion together in a bowl until smooth. Let the batter rest 5 minutes so the flour hydrates.
Heat a griddle or nonstick skillet over medium heat. Scoop 1/4 cup of batter onto the hot surface and spread it into a thin circle.
Cook until bubbles form across the surface and the edges look dry, about 2 to 3 minutes, then flip and cook 1 to 2 minutes more. Stack the finished tortillas under a clean towel so they stay soft.

Taco Filling

Heat the avocado oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the zucchini and mushrooms and cook until they release their liquid and start to brown, about 5 minutes.
Add the Swiss chard, shredded chicken, and salt. Cook, stirring, until the chard wilts and the chicken is heated through, about 2 minutes. Keep the avocado raw and save it for topping.

Garden Chimichurri Sauce

Add the cilantro, oregano, basil, green onion, lime juice, olive oil, salt, and water to a blender. Blend just until the herbs are finely chopped and the sauce pours easily. Add another spoonful of water if it is too thick.

To Serve

Spoon the warm filling into each chickpea tortilla, drizzle generously with the chimichurri, and top with sliced avocado. Serve right away with a wedge of lime.

Notes

Storage: The chimichurri keeps in a sealed jar in the refrigerator for up to 5 days and the flavor deepens after a few hours. The cooked filling keeps for 3 days. Cooked tortillas keep for 2 days in the refrigerator. Warm them in a dry skillet about 30 seconds per side to soften them again.

Make ahead: The sauce and the filling can both be made a day early. Cook the tortillas fresh if you can, since they are best warm off the griddle.

Tips: Let the tortilla batter rest 5 minutes before cooking so the chickpea flour fully hydrates. If the batter thickens while it sits, whisk in water a spoonful at a time until it pours easily again. Add the avocado only after the filling comes off the heat.

Cook From What You Have

This recipe exists because I looked at what was ready in the garden instead of at a recipe. That is a habit worth building, and it is the fastest way I know to get a real dinner on the table on a weeknight.

Start with the vegetables you actually have. Add a protein. Make one bright sauce. That is dinner, and the pattern works with almost any combination you can pull out of the crisper drawer.

If you want a framework for doing that on repeat, I put mine into a free guide called The 30 Minute Meal Formula. It is what I use when I have no plan and dinner is still forty minutes away.