![Vegan Caesar Salad With Crisp Chickpeas](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2020/01/02/dining/bh-vegan-caesar/bh-vegan-caesar-mediumThreeByTwo440.jpg?width=1280&quality=75&auto=webp)
Crispy Mushroom Tacos
![Crispy Mushroom Tacos](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2021/07/22/dining/jr-mushroom-chicharron-tacos/merlin_190839549_095df813-3bb7-4257-91a5-1d7f6516fcb5-articleLarge.jpg?width=1280&quality=75&auto=webp)
- Total Time
- 30 minutes
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
Advertisement
Ingredients
- 1large beefsteak tomato, cored and cut into ¼-inch dice
- 1large ripe Hass avocado, pitted, peeled and cut into ¼-inch dice
- 2jalapeños, stemmed and finely chopped (seeded if desired)
- ½cup cilantro leaves, finely chopped
- 3tablespoons fresh lime juice (from 1 to 2 limes)
- Coarse kosher salt
- 18ounces oyster mushrooms (from 2 to 3 medium clusters)
- ⅓cup neutral oil, such as canola
- ¼teaspoon ground cumin
- 1½teaspoons coarse kosher salt
- Black pepper
- 12corn tortillas
For the Pico De Gallo
For the Mushroom Tacos
Preparation
- Step 1
Make the pico de gallo: Combine the tomato, avocado, jalapeños, cilantro and lime juice in a bowl and season with salt. Gently fold together. Set aside to allow flavors to marry while the mushrooms cook.
- Step 2
Make the tacos: Tear the oyster mushrooms into bite-size pieces, leaving some mushroom tops whole. To make sure the mushrooms become crisp, cook in two batches: Heat a large cast iron or other heavy skillet over medium-high and coat with half of the oil. Once the oil is hot, add half of the mushrooms in a single layer without crowding the skillet. Cook, stirring every few minutes, until deep golden brown and crisp, 10 to 15 minutes. Transfer to a plate, then repeat with the remaining oil and mushrooms. Return the first batch to the skillet, and add the cumin and salt, and season with pepper. Stir well, then remove from the heat.
- Step 3
While the mushrooms are cooking, warm the tortillas on a comal or heavy skillet over medium-high heat until soft and pliable. Wrap them in a dish towel to keep them warm until ready to serve. Divide the mushrooms and pico de gallo among the warm tortillas. Serve immediately.
Private Notes
Cooking Notes
Looks delicious, can’t wait to give it a try. I would also add in a crunchy cabbage slaw. I like to use Bryan Roof’s recipe: 1/2 head cabbage cored and shredded 1/4 cup chopped cilantro 3 scallions, sliced thin 1 teaspoon olive oil 2 tablespoons cider vinegar 1/2 teaspoon salt Combine all ingredients and toss
While at university in Washington State and working for the Forest Service during summers, I learned to love foraging for mushrooms. With such abundance and variety, you experiment with everything from Stroganoffs, faux coq a vin with chanterelles, and yes, tacos galore. My point? Feel free to experiment. It’s a culinary adventure that still takes me to surprising places.
Delicious recipe! I'd at least double the mushrooms though, they shrink up a ton! I added a bit of garlic with the cumin and topped with guacamole and really liked it!
If you are serving 4 people, you need to up the mushrooms maybe to 1.5 pounds. I used exactly one pound of mushrooms, plus grilled corn for 3, and everything was gone! I also made extra pico de gallo and it went too.
I made these as written with this exception: I substituted baby bella mushrooms, which I sliced 1/4" thick, for the oysters (would have had to buy 4 small expensive packages, and we like bellas anyway.) I also seared a few fat scallions and chopped them into the cooked mushrooms. These were delicious! Will make again.
These are fantastic. While I can see this would work with other types of mushrooms, you should really try to make it with oyster mushrooms. The structure of the oyster mushroom is more conducive to getting that crackling like effect. Like others I tinkered with the spices. I went with cumin, coriander, garlic powder, chipotle powder and salt. Also, I spread the mushrooms out on some paper towels for most of the day to help dry them out some. This allowed them to crisp nicely.
I charred 4 green onions in the pan, cut them into pieces and set them aside before adding more oil and the mushrooms. Added them to the finished mushrooms for even more smokey flavor. Delicious!
Best buy for mushrooms—oyster, shiitake, etc—is HMart or similar Asian supermarket.
This would have been pretty great except 1 1/2 tsp kosher salt is way too much. I used 1/3 less and it was still barely edible. Really disappointing after spending a lot of money on fancy mushrooms.
You can’t put avocado in pico de gallo! You need to add minced white onion and chopped green onion and omit the avocado. Avocado would be best added in the form of guacamole.
I took others’ advice and cut the salt by 2/3, and I’m glad I did. The mushrooms were nicely salty, and the crispness was lovely. Next time I’ll add more cumin and some chili powder to boost the flavor a bit. The salsa was excellent, bright and creamy.
This looks amazing, loving all the vegan recipes.
Have made this several times with different kinds of mushrooms - king oyster, cremini & oyster. All super yummy! Just be patient to let them cook and let them get crispy. I personally will add less salt next time. This is my new favourite recipe!
Pico de Gallo was even better with the addition of a grated clove of garlic. Our family usually prefers corn tortillas, but liked flour better with this recipe. Over all, recipe was a hit with everyone!
I felt the mushrooms needed a bit more cumin at the end, so I doubled it. And added a little bit of garlic powder. It was delicious!
This is shockingly good! Even the most die-hard meat eater would love these. So easy and so delicious with great depth of flavor. Serves only two -- I promise! Plan accordingly!
Easy and tasty!
Make a rub with chilles garlic powder oregano salt before drizzling the oil. Roast in a fast oven 450F 15 mins then stir and roast until crisp around the edges for another 10 mins. Leave mushrooms whole or tear in half. Black trumpets work really well. Freshness is important. Dried up shrooms don’t roast well.
Delicious and easy. I had a lot of baby Bella mushrooms which weren't going to last while we were away. Ditto scallions which I added at a fellow reader's suggestion (I always read the comments, which are often helpful), as well as minced garlic. I was only cooking for 2 of us, so only one panful of mushrooms which shortened the cooking time. Salsa was bright and fresh against the rich mushrooms, and a dollop of sour cream was the finishing touch.
just keeping terminology correct: this recipe for "pico de gallo" is virtually the same as what i grew up with (in mexico) as guacamole. delicious as it is, it is NOT pico de gallo, which is a light, fresh salsa with no fat. once you add avocado, it's guacamole, which has many many variations and is not just pureed avocadoes.
It was such a pain to source the mushrooms that I swore to my boyfriend as I was cooking this that, no matter how good it was, I was never cooking it again (we would just find a vegan taco place) but oh my, these were better than expected. Next time I feel like spending $40 on mushrooms I will absolutely make these. Delicious.
I love these tacos. It’s one of my favorite meatless dishes. I don’t make the pico with the avocado though. Just make them like I would any other tacos, sometimes switching up the toppings completely. They do really cook down. We get about 6 or 7 “street taco” sized corn tortillas out of these. I add garlic and chili powder for sure, more cumin, sometimes sauté green onion separately as others suggested and then combine. They’re great! Oyster mushrooms are super important - they are meaty!
The tacos in the photo don’t look soft. How to get the crispy without frying?
Great recipe but as others said you need closer to double the mushrooms for 4 full servings. My mushrooms didn’t get crispy with the shredded chicken look in the photo, but I may not have torn them up enough. Added coriander powder, cayenne pepper and garlic powder too. Some TJ’s chili lime seasoning or Tajin in the pico de gallo ties everything together!
Honestly can't believe how good these were! They were meaty and had a similar texture to shredded beef. I followed others; sautéed 3-4 green onions before doing the mushrooms, and added some minced garlic at the end of cooking as well; salt everything to taste. I did not care for was the pico. It seemed lacking, and by the time the mushrooms were done, it was super watery. I'd do regular pico and keep the avocado as a separate topping, and probably add some cotija or crema.
And yes - the mushrooms cooked down a lot! I expected it, and it was just for 2 people, so not a big deal. We used "street taco" sized corn tortillas and while I don't recall exactly how much oyster mushrooms we bought, it was over 1lb and it was just two of us eating them - no leftovers. I don't see even 18oz being enough for 4 servings unless you make pretty weak tacos. And we were using small tortillas! But still great, just something to keep in mind - make a side.
Oh god. Way too much salt. Not enough mushrooms. Too much oil. Use 1/4 t of salt (you can always add more) Use 1 lb oyster mushrooms Pour 1/3 c oil; start with half for your first batch, then add some for the next 2 batches up to the full 1/3 cup. Watch the mushrooms! When they get golden, REMOVE THEM BEFORE THEY BURN.
I added Portobellos to the mix - YUM!!
Honestly, I wasn’t a fan. It took me much longer than 30 minutes, and the result was quite bland which was disappointing. Salt did not change that equation. I might try again with more spices on the mushrooms but overall it was a disappointment.
Including the slaw in one of the previous comments makes this an incredible meal.
Advertisement