We have all seen the commercial by now for the locos tacos from Taco Bell. It is a Dorito shell with the usual taco stuff inside. It is easy to be grossed out and want one at the same time.
I attempted making my own version seen here on Matt's plate. I served it with a little bowl of refried pinto beans with hot sauce and cheeze like Taco Bells makes. Well, my Dorito spice mix needs to be adjusted the chip - taco combo was there but it needs more kick. The tacos were a bit darker in person - but not as red as the ones on the TB commercial.
Basically I made a seasoning of nutritional yeast, paprika, salt and garlic powder. I tossed the shells in the oven - since they contained coconut oil I waited a few minutes for the oil to release, pulled them out and sprinkled them with seasoning on one side.After putting them in the oven for another few minutes I pulled them out, flipped them and sprinkled more seasoning on the 'naked' side and baked another minute. The shells turned a golden color.
I am sure you can spray cooking spray/oil on the shells, sprinkle/dunk the shells in the spice mix and then bake. However I did not want to get super oily here and tried this method...It worked!
The filling was soy crumbles cooked in a bit of vegetable oil, lettuce, Daiya shreds, hot sauce! Next time I will play around with the seasoning to get a more vibrant color and kickier taste. I assume Doritos get their color from food dye and MSG!
