Add soaked and drained lentils to a pot along with 2 cups of water. Over medium heat, bring to a simmer.
Add tomato paste, 1 cup of water, molasses, date syrup, and spices to a blender, and process until smooth. Adjust the salt, keeping in mind you’ll want the BBQ to be salty enough to well season the lentils.
Add the bbq sauce to the lentils (along with the water they are already simmering in), and continue to simmer on medium-low to medium heat for 30-40 minutes, until desired doneness.
Cilantro Lime Crema:
To ensure a really smooth sauce, be sure to use soaked cashews.
Add the cashews, lime juice, water, cilantro and sea salt to a blender, and process for 3-4 minutes, until the mixture is very smooth. Start with 2 tablespoons of water, and add more if desired to thin the consistency.
Fried Onions:
In a small frying pan, add oil for frying, and heat over medium heat.
In a small bowl, add arrowroot and masa harina, and season well with sea salt.
Completely coat thinly sliced onions in the flour mixture, and then add to the frying pan. Cook each side for about a minute, until the onions become golden brown. If you onions are taking longer or a shorter amount of time, adjust your cooking temperature.
Remove onions from the oil, and place on a plate lined with a paper towel to drain excess oil.
Repeat until all onions are fried.
TACOS
Once all your taco components have been made, heat your corn tortillas, and then fill with lentils, lettuce, tomato, and crispy fried onions. Drizzle with cilantro lime crema.
If meal prepping, pack your tortillas, lentils and cilantro lime crema separately, and then add all the taco toppings to a meal prep container. Reheat the tortillas and lentils to serve.
Notes
Nutrition for 1 out of 6 servings:6.5g Protein | 36g Carbs | 15g Fat | 6g Fiber | 306 CaloriesNotes: If you don’t have time to soak lentils overnight, use the “quick soak” method. Bring lentils to a boil, allow to boil 1 minute, then cover and remove from heat. Soak lentils for 1 hour before draining and using in the recipe.Cashews can also be quick soaked, but simply pour boiling water over the cashews and allow to soak in the hot water for 1 hour.