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Confession time… I am presently recovering for a bit of a “taco fever.” My entire household was affected. We just couldn’t get enough tacos. Night after night, we’d have the same conversation…
Me: “Do you mind if we have tacos again tonight?”
Him: “I was hoping you’d say that!”
I made this same meal every night for nearly two weeks last month. I’m not ashamed to admit it! The truth is, all of the ingredients are cheap, healthy, I keep them all on-hand at all times, and this meal can be whipped up in 30 minutes flat (15-20 minutes, with some skillful multi-tasking)! It’s really an ideal weeknight dinner – so why not have it every night of the week!
In this recipe I used some freezer-preserved maitake mushrooms that I had handy, also known as “Hen of the Woods.” The light and savory flavor of this wild mushroom is perfect for a shredded barbecue style of filling, but if you don’t have any of this particular mushroom on-hand, shiitakes or cremini (aka, baby bella) work just fine. Use what you have on hand!
Usually I’ll serve a stack of warm corn tortillas along with an assortment of taco fillings served separately in mason jars, so that they can be assembled buffet-style or at the dinner table. When it’s time to put away leftovers, just add a lid and pop it in the fridge.
Give these a try and you might catch the fever too! ¡Buen provecho!
Shredded Barbecue Mushroom Tacos
Ingredients
- 12 corn or flour tortillas
BARBECUED MAITAKE MUSHROOMS
- 1/2 pound maitake mushroom if you don’t have access to maitake, you can use cremini or shiitake
- 4-6 tbsp of barbecue sauce
- 1 large onions to caramelize
- up to 1 cup of vegetable broth or beer
- up to 1 cup water
LIME CREMA
- 1/2 cup cashews
- 1 lime
- 1 tbsp rice vinegar or white vinegar
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 1 tsp nutritional yeast
SALSA
- 1 can diced tomatoes with juice
- 1 large onion
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1 lime
- 1 tsp cumin
- 5-6 pickled jalapeño slices or a fresh hot pepper, if you have one
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/8 tsp black pepper
- 1 large handful of cilantro optional
CORN AND BEAN SALAD
- 1 15 oz can of sweet corn drained
- 1 15 oz can of black beans drained and rinsed
- 1/2 tsp cumin
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/8 tsp black pepper
- 1 4 oz can of minced green chiles with juice or 4-5 minced pickled jalapeños
FIXINS
- 1 Sliced avocado
- 1 cup Shredded lettuce
Instructions
- Soak the cashews: In a pint size mason jar, soak 1/2 cup cashews, covered, in boiled water.
- Caramelize the Onions: Thinly slice one onion. Set aside about 1/4 of the slices to use as toppings later. Caramelize the remaining 3/4 in a non-stick pan over medium heat with about 2 tbsp of water, covered. Every 2-3 minutes, stir the onions, and add more water or broth as needed to deglaze the pan, then cover again. Do this for about 15 minutes. I like to alternate deglazing with water and broth.
- Wash and drain the lettuce – set aside to dry.
- Make the Salsa: In a blender or food processor add one coarsely chopped onion, garlic, salt, pepper, cumin and jalepeños. Pulse until the onion, garlic and peppers are well minced, then add 1 can of diced tomatos with their juice. Pulse to just combine (don’t over-blend!) Add cilantro at very end and pulse one more time to mix it in. Taste and adjust salsa for seasonings.
- Make the Corn and Bean Salad: In a medium bowl or quart-sized mason jar, add chiles or 5-6 diced jalapeño slices, 1 can sweet corn, 1 can of black beans, cumin, and salt and pepper to taste. Mix.
- Make the Lime Crema: Drain the soaked cashews, and leave them in the jar. Add the The juice of 1 lime, 1 tbsp vinegar, 1/8 tsp salt, 1 tsp nutritional yeast, and 1/4 cup of water. Puree with an immersion blender until smooth. It’s ok if you need to add a few more splashes of water to get the blender to puree the cashews. Crema can be a bit thinner than sour cream.
- Make the Barbecue Musrooms: If using Maitake, wash well and pull the florets apart with your fingers. If using shitake or cremini, slice into long slices. When the onions are nicely caramelized, add the mushrooms to the same skillet with a tbsp of water and cover. Allow them to steam and release their juices for 5 minutes. Remove the lid and then increase the heat to medium high, cooking off any liquid that has come out of the mushrooms. Deglaze with a tablespoon of vegetable broth and sear for 5 minutes. Reduce heat to low, Add 4-6 tablespoons of barbecue sauce and mix until well coated. Transfer to a serving bowl or jar.
- Slice the avocados.
- Assemble: Serve warm tortillas along with onions, avocados, lettuce, salsa, salad, crema and shredded barbecue fo buffet-style or at the table. Makes about 12 tacos.
I’d eat that.