Some of my favourite dining out experiences have been at restaurants that prepare food with severe restrictions. The reasoning behind this is probably related to why I like cooking when there’s nothing in the fridge. Restrictions make us more creative and resourceful, forcing us experiment and think. Meals at such restaurants evoke a sense of adventure and inspiration, they’re usually meals that I could never come up with on my own.

Rawlicious, a raw vegan chain in Toronto, makes fantastic food. I’m far from following a raw or vegan diet, so eating at Rawlicious is really just about enjoying their creatively prepared and delicious meals. When I can thoroughly enjoy a sandwich, a “pasta” dish, or a pizza made with nothing but raw veggies, nuts, and spices, I’m totally impressed. In my most recent visit, I had a taco.

This green little taco was full of flavour, had bright and fresh ingredients, and most of all, made me wonder. It made me wonder about what other kinds of crazy things can be made with spiced nut mixtures. It made me wonder how everything else on their menu was made, and what else they were going to come up with. I started thinking about all of the other things that can be wrapped up in big green collard leaves. I’ve made collard wraps many times before, but this taco was different, in a good way. To be honest, it didn’t quite taste like a taco, but it was delicious, especially when you let go of the idea of it being a taco.

This creation is inspired by my raw vegan taco experience at Rawlicious, adapts a spiced nut mix from My New Roots, and uses plenty of sprouts. I recently discovered that I can sprout things, so everything sproutable in my kitchen has been sprouted – more on that later. I hope you like it!