Crispy Buttery Mushroom Tacos with Zesty Street Corn
Another Tuesday, another taco recipe. This one is STACKED with flavor and moving parts that work together to create a delicious masterpiece of a taco. And…? Not a single meat was used. My body said “veggies please!” I said lets’s gooooo.
My key tip for this one is to make sure you cook the mushrooms by themselves in the pan for optimal crispiness to avoid that rubbery texture most people don’t like about mushrooms. Also, I recommend shiitake for this recipe, but any wild mushroom will work EXCEPT for white button mushrooms — those bad boys gets real soggy real quick, and there ain’t much you can do to prevent it.
This is a great recipe if you’re trying to eat more veggie meals or cut down on meat, but still want that flavor punch. So! Let’s get into it.
What You Need:
1 box of shiitake mushrooms
2-3 ears of fresh corn (or 1 cup of frozen corn)
1 red bell pepper
Cotija or feta cheese
3 tbsp mayo
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 tsp cumin
3-finger pinch of black pepper
Shredded cabbage
1/2 red onion
Juice of 1 lime
Handful of cilantro
1/2 cup of plain greek yogurt (or sour cream)
Street taco tortillas
Jalapeños or hot peppers of your choice (and a splash of the juice if you’re using jarred peppers)
Make It Happen:
Start by cutting the corn off its cob and add the loose corn to a buttered skillet over medium high heat. Season only with a pinch of salt (the rest of the seasoning will go into the elotes mix) and stir VERY infrequently to give it a chance to get that char.
Cook the corn until its nice and charred — about 5 minutes. Then remove and set aside.
Add a drizzle of olive oil to the same pan you cooked the corn, then sauté the diced peppers over medium high heat — again, stir minimally — for about 8 - 10 minutes. Season with smoked paprika, cumin, and black pepper.
Prepare your elotes by combining charred corn, a fist-full of roughly chopped cilantro, mayo, chili powder, lime juice, and cotija cheese. Mix thoroughly and set aside.
Get the shroomies goin: Add 3 tbsp butter to a pan over medium high heat. Rinse and THOROUGHLY dry the mushrooms before adding to the pre-heated pan.
Add the mushrooms, sprinkle with a 5-finger pinch of salt and a bit of fresh thyme. Cook for about 4-5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
While the shroomies sauté, prep the sauce: Mix together the yogurt (or sour cream), a light splash of jarred jalapeno juice, a pinch of finely chopped cilantro, juice of 1/2 a lime, and a sprinkle of garlic salt.
Lastly, warm your tortillas on a skillet over high heat until they puff up (just a couple seconds on each side). Warm tortillas are KEY to a killer taco.
Now, assemble! On your tortillas, layer the cream sauce, then mushrooms, peppers, elotes, cabbage, diced red onion, jalapenos (optional), a tiny pinch of chopped cilantro if you’d like, and a squeeze of lime.
Enjoy these meatless wonders, my friends!
