Although my black bean & chorizo tacos are a staple at home, I generally try to cook meat-free meals during the week, so I wanted to create an easy, yet satisfying vegetarian taco recipe that people will want to go back to time and time again. Enter my ‘pulled’ portobello mushroom tacos with a super easy, five-ingredient sweetcorn salsa (it uses tinned sweetcorn to save time but, if you want to make it more special, it would work excellently with barbecued or griddled fresh corn). The best bit? The whole meal can be ready in 30 minutes.
I’ve seen several recipes making tacos with shredded or ‘pulled’ oyster mushrooms as a vegan alternative to pulled pork, but as oyster mushrooms still aren’t easily available in all major supermarkets, I decided to use portobello mushrooms instead (inspired by my recipe writer pal Elena Silcock who once did something similar).
P.s – this is vegan-friendly if you omit the feta.
Pulled mushroom tacos with quick corn salsa
Serves 3-4 (Makes 8-10 tacos)
Prep: 10 mins
Cook: 20 mins
For the pulled mushrooms
oil
8 portobello mushrooms
1 large onion, finely sliced
1 garlic clove, finely chopped or crushed
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp oregano
1 tbsp chipotle paste
1 tbsp dark soy sauce
For the corn salsa
½ red onion, finely diced
1 lime, juiced for 2 tbsp
2 tbsp pickled jalepenos, chopped + 1 tbsp liquid from the jar
1 (198g) can sweetcorn, drained
large handful (1/2 a small bunch) coriander, finely chopped
To serve
10 mini tortillas (I usually use these ones, available in Sainsbury’s)
1 lime, quartered
feta cheese, crumbled
a drizzle of your favourite hot sauce, optional (I love Cholulu, Valentina, or for something spicier, try El Yucateco green habanero sauce, it’s so good).
- Heat oven to 220/200 fan. Put the mushrooms on a baking tray and drizzle with oil, season with salt and pepper, then roast for 15 mins, until soft.
- In a large frying pan, heat 1 tbsp oil on a medium-high heat and tip in the sliced onions with a large pinch of salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, for around 10 mins.
- While your onions are cooking, put the finely chopped red onion in a bowl and cover with 2 tbsp lime juice, 2 tbsp chopped pickled jalapenos and 1 tbsp of the liquid from the jar, plus a pinch of salt, and set aside to lightly pickle.
- Back to your onion pan. After around ten mins, add the crushed garlic and fry for a minute or two further, then add the cumin and oregano, stir for a minute, then lower the heat.
- Remove the mushrooms from the oven and, using two forks, pull them apart in a shredding motion, until they’ve broken down into smaller pieces. Tip these, along with all the liquid in the tray, into the onion pan and stir to combine. Add the chipotle paste and soy sauce and stir to combine. Taste and season if needed. You want the mushrooms to be intensely salty/savoury to counteract the sweetness of the corn salsa. Keep on a very low heat while you prepare the tortillas and salsa. Add a splash of water if it’s looking at all dry.
- Come back to your bowl of red onion, lime and jalapeños. Add the sweetcorn and coriander and stir to combine. Taste and season if needed. That’s your salsa done.
- Heat your tortillas one by one in a dry frying pan on a high heat – they wont take very long to start charring so keep and eye on them.
- To serve, put the mushrooms, salsa and heated tortillas on the table with crumbled feta cheese and allow people to build their own tacos. Serve each with a quarter of lime for squeezing over, plus extra hot sauce and coriander for those that want it.
Anna Lawson eats... 