Smoky pulled mushroom tacos
Living abroad oddly has me craving traditions that I never even celebrated back home. Taco Tuesday was something that went totally over my head back in the USA, but there's something oddly festive about this tradition that I'm leaning into hard.
Plus, my partner being from Mexico, it gives us the excuse to eat a little bite of home at least once a week. One of the challenges in this Taco Tuesday endeavor is to find a way to have spectacular tacos that are either vegan or vegetarian.
I've seen some recipes floating around the internet of using oyster mushrooms for a pulled pork or shredded chicken approach. After looking through a bunch of recipes, I landed on this mishmash. It's so unbelievably delicious. If you're cooking with other people, have one person shred the mushrooms while you do the other bits and you'll have dinner in no time. José said these were the best tacos he's had in Berlin. When I sent the recipe to a friend back home who is also from Mexico, she loved them so much she shared the recipe with her colleagues. These are worth making
Serves 4
Ingredients
Pulled mushrooms
14oz king oyster mushrooms
2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, sliced thinly
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp groud cumin
1 tbsp smoked paprika
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp tomato paste
2 tbsp chipotle in adobo
2 tbsp soy sauce
1/4 cup water
Pico de gallo
3 plum tomatoes, finely diced
1/4 cup cilantro, roughly chopped
2 tsp lime juice
1/2 shallot, finely diced
Cashew cream
1/2 cup cashews
1 tbsp lemon juice
Assembly
12 corn tortillas
1 cup shredded romaine
1/4 cup cilantro
Recipe
STEP 1
To make the cashew cream, soak the cashews in water overnight to soften (or if you’re short on time, just put them in water to soak while you do the rest of the steps for this recipe). The next day, rinse the cashews and toss into a blender with the lemon juice and salt to taste. If the mixture is too thick, slowly add water in to loosen it up.
STEP 2
To make the pulled mushrooms, cut off the caps and slice them thinly. Then with a fork, shred the stems. Preheat oven to 390°F (170°C).
STEP 3
Heat a heavy-bottomed sauté pan on medium heat with the olive oil. Add the onion, and cook for around 10 minutes until lightly browned. Then add the garlic and cook for another couple minutes until fragrant. Add the cumin, smoked paprika, and ground coriander to the pan. Stir until fragrant, just a minute.
STEP 4
Add the tomato paste and and chipotle in adobo. Gently stir in the mushrooms and coat in the sauce. Add the soy sauce and the water. Allow it to cook until all the liquid is absorbed/evaporated. Season with salt and pepper.
STEP 5
Line a baking tray with parchment paper and spread the mushroom mixture evenly on tray. Bake for 15-20 minutes until nicely browned. Set aside
STEP 6
For the Pico de gallo, mix all the ingredients together and toss.
STEP 7
To assemble, warm the corn tortillas on a pan to make them pliable and enhance the corn flavor. Place some of the mushroom mixture on the bottom, top with romaine, pico de gallo, cilantro, and a dollop of cashew cream.
Other Recipes For This Week
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MEET YOUR MEAL
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- Julia Feld