This Mexican mushroom recipe couldn’t have come at a better time.
Fall is already off to such a busy start that I’ve barely had time to cook anything for this site. My lunches have been all about scrounging from the refrigerator and eating at my desk or standing at the counter shoveling food in my mouth straight from a quart container.
Luckily, I’ve had so much recipe testing for Food & Wine these past few weeks that my fridge has been well-endowed in the leftovers department. This particular lunch came by way of some scraps from my fish tacos project with a few toppings borrowed from the Pad Thai I was currently shooting on that particular day. And it was consumed in an effort to hop back on the Meatless Monday bandwagon after a weekend of eating 70 percent of my meals in the form of red meat at camp.
Ever since I ate at Rick Bayless’ restaurant in LA back in February, I’ve been wanting to develop a recipe for mushroom tacos. Texturally, they’re the best option for a vegetarian filling, and they carry so much flavor when seared over high heat that you don’t need to do a whole lot to them. I generally like any vehicle that can subject itself to the whorehouse of condiments that is my fridge. And these mushrooms cozied up nicely to some leftover tomatillo salsa and just a few drops of sriracha.
In an effort to make my leftovers lunches even better, I’ve started making a big pot of rice at the beginning of the week. This summer I got hooked on this brown basmati version of traditional Mexican rice. For a dinner party, I made something similar and mixed in a little marinated kale and scallions before serving to make the green rice even greener.
I’m excited to start experimenting with some more fall veggies in the weeks to come. Are there any in particular that you’d like to see? Any dishes you’ve been craving recipes for this season? Let me know if the comments! I promise that you too won’t be forced to eat my leftovers for lunch.
With health and hedonism,
Phoebe
Mexican Mushroom Tacos with Yellow Rice and Tomatillo Salsa
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 large shallot minced
- 1 poblano pepper seeds and ribs removed, minced
- 1 jalapeno seeds and ribs removed, minced
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1 cup brown rice
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
For the tacos:
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 pound mixed wild mushrooms quartered
- 1 shallot thinly sliced
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- dash cayenne pepper
- 8 six-inch corn tortillas
- Cilantro leaves for serving
- 1 cup salsa verde or tomatillo salsa for serving
Instructions
- In a medium lidded saucepan or Dutch oven heat the oil. Saute the shallot, pepper, and jalapeno over medium-high heat until soft, about 3 minutes. Stir in the rice, cumin and turmeric. Salute another 2 minutes, until the rice is covered in the pepper mixture. Add 2 cups water and 1/2 teaspoon sea salt and bring to a boil. Cover, turn the heat to low, and cook 45 minutes, or until the brown rice is soft and the water is absorbed. Rest for 10 minutes, then fluff with a fork.
- Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat the remaining oil. Saute the shallots and mushrooms over high heat until the mushrooms are nicely browned, about 5 minutes. Add the salt, paprika and cayenne. Continue to sauté until the mushrooms have released all their moisture, about 3 minutes more. Set aside.
- Divide the rice among the tortillas and top with the Mexican mushroom mixture. Garnish with cilantro leaves and serve alongside the tomatillo salsa.
Nutrition
If you make this, tag @phoebelapine and #feedmephoebe - I'd love to see it!
Love these tacos! Leftovers aren’t so bad when they look like this. 🙂 And I was going to comment on that gorgeous board, too – it’s lovely!
isn’t it pretty?? wish you could see it in person. so heavy and chic. Thanks for the recipe love, Marie! xx
You are so lucky to be doing all this work with Food & Wine! Jealous! Can’t wait to see the finished products! I just recently jumped on the Meatless Monday bandwagon, I love it! It is so cheap and easy! Also, I just recently had a mushroom taco to die for that sounds very similar to this so I cannot wait to recreate this at home!
I definitely feel lucky. It’s been a lot of work, but really fun. So glad you’re giving MM a try! It’s so manageable and definitely the right way to look at balanced eating. xo
Can you do something with rutabagas in a recipe this fall? It’s just one of those mystery veggies that I notice in the store and then realize I have no idea what they’re good for.
That’s been on my list for a while! I’m afraid I’ve never actually cooked with them! So stay tuned 🙂
They are sooo delicious mashed with a little butter and brown sugar, but I look forward to your approach that will surely be more inventive than my Scottish grandfather’s ! haha
These sound so flavourful! Mushroom tacos are always a favourite and I’ll be sure to try your recipe… thanks for sharing!
-Shannon
Thanks, Shannon!
These look so hearty and festively fall! I’d love to see something related to squash. Pumpkin tacos to go with the pumpkin hashtag nonsense trends that pop up everywhere (and we all secretly love it.) Pumpkin sauce? Pumpkin tamales?
Sydney! Pumpkin Tamales is a BRILLIANT idea. I’m adding it to my list. Thanks so much for the inspiration. xo
Hello from Downunder and thank you for a great recipe. I always keep mushrooms on my shopping list and I love what you’ve done with them here.
Thanks, Lizzy!! great to hear from you from halfway across the world! xo
Ok, YES. I just made and devoured these, and they were SO good! I like to go crazy with the extras, so i added warmed refried beans (with some thyme), avocado, and queso fresco. Love!
yay! I’m so glad to hear it Laurel! Thanks for reporting back. Queso and avocado are a must in my book 🙂
The “filling” was delicious–and in fact, I never even had a chance to put these into tacos. But by itself, the rice/mushroom combo with a little bit of salsa was a pretty nice snack/side. Great recipe, and very easy to do.
woohoo!! good to know that the tortilla is “optional” – thanks for making!
Instruction 1 Sentence 3 Stir in rice & cilantro. Saute another minutes, until the rice is covered in the pepper mixture.
How many minutes?
good catch marti! just another few minutes – 2 🙂