The “fixings” is the key word in this oyster mushroom tacos dish in Ottolenghi’s Flavor. What I mean is there is a lot of flexibility when it comes to treating the components of the dish. You can make every item on the menu. There are the pickled onions, pickled radish, avocado crema and tortillas. Or you can do as little as you want by going with jarred pickles, a tub of guacamole or a bag of tortillas from the store. Whatever you feel like doing is fine — by the nature of this recipe. But the star of the show is the roasted oyster mushrooms. That’s not to be skipped.
There is always a box of mushroom in my shopping cart while in the store. I like to pick up whatever looks fresh and appealing. In the pantry at home, there is a good-size container of “dry gourmet mix mushrooms.” My husband bought them for me from Costco. So mushrooms are always on hand to turn into the crispy, chewy and flavorful sponges of goodness. After a brief cooking, the roasted mushrooms can go into a fiesta or pair with fresh corn polenta. I get that the versatility of mushrooms has no limits.
First, season the mushrooms in a bowl with the wet mix of garlic, soy sauce, maple syrup, olive oil and salt. Next comes the dry mix of freshly ground cumin seeds, chiles and allspice berries. Part of the spice mix goes into the olive oil for the chile oil infusion — for later use. The rest goes into the bowl of mushrooms. Transfer the mushrooms onto baking sheets which go into the 425°F oven for roasting.
The cooking may stop here. If you are in the mood for more, you can proceed to prepare the other components: pickles, crema and tortillas. There are lots of room for the homecooks to create. Or if you choose to party, let’s the fun roll.
I didn’t get a good picture of the mushroom tacos and fixin’s. My mind was on the eating, By the way, it was late in the evening and the lighting was low for photography. But the party atmosphere had just begun. If not, take out a bottle of wine!
Oyster Mushroom Tacos with All (or Some of) the Fixin's | Ottolenghi
Ingredients
- PICKLED ONIONS:
- 1 red onion (1 1/4 cup/ 150g), finely sliced into rounds on a mandoline or by hand
- 2 oranges, finely shave the peel to get 6 strips, then juice to get 1/4 cup/ 60ml
- 2 hibiscus tea bags, or 1/4 oz/ 5g dried hibiscus flowers (optional)
- 10 allspice berries
- 1/4 cup/ 60ml white wine vinegar
- 1 tsp superfine sugar
- 1/4 tsp table salt
- AVOCADO CREMA:
- 1 medium avocado, pitted and peeled
- 1/4 cup/ 90g coconut cream
- 1/2 cup/ 10g cilantro, roughly chopped
- 1 tsp water
- 1/4 tsp table salt
- PICKLED KOHLRABI OR RADISH:
- 1 small kohlrabi or a large radish (1 cup/ 120g), peeled and cut into wide matchsticks
- 4 1/2 tsp lime juice
- 1/4 tsp table salt
- ROASTED MUSHROOMS:
- 1 lb 8 oz/ 680g oyster or other mushrooms, roughly torn
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- 3 tbsp soy sauce
- 4 1/2 tsp maple syrup
- 7 tbsp/ 105 ml olive oil
- table salt
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 4 dried cascabel or ancho chiles, stems removed, roughly broken
- 1/2 tsp allspice berries
- TORTILLAS:
- 1 cup plus 2 tbsp/ 125g masa harina, plus more as needed
- table salt
- 1 cup/ 240 ml boiling water
- GARNISH:
- 2 limes, cut into wedges
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 425°F/200°C fan. Line two large rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper.
FOR THE PICKLED ONIONS: in a small serving bowl, mix together the red onion, orange peel, orange juice, tea bags (if using), allspice, vinegar, sugar, and salt and set aside.
FOR THE AVOCADO CREMA: In a bowl of a small food processor, combine the avocado, coconut cream, cilantro, water and salt. Blitz until smooth, scraping down the sides of the bowl as you go. Transfer to a small serving bowl and set aside.
FOR THE PICKLED KOHLRABI OR RADISH: In a small serving bowl, mix together the kohlrabi or radish, lime juice, and salt and set aside.
FOR THE ROASTED MUSHROOMS: In a large bowl, mix the mushrooms with the garlic, soy sauce, maple syrup, 5 tbsp/ 75ml of the olive oil, and 3/4 tsp salt. Blitz the cumin seeds, chiles and allspice to a powder in a spice grinder or a mortar and pestle. Put 1 1/2 tsp of the spice mix into a small bowl with the remaining 2 tbsp olive oil and set aside. Stir the rest of the spice mix into the bowl of mushrooms.
Transfer the mushrooms to the prepared baking sheets, spread out as much as possible, and roast for 20 minutes. Combine all the mushrooms on one sheet, mix well, and continue to roast for another 8 minutes, until crisp and browned.
FOR THE TORTILLAS: Put the masa harina and a good pinch of salt into a medium bowl and pour in the boiling water, stirring with a spatula until the dough comes together, and then set aside. Once the dough is cool enough to handle, knead into a smooth ball that has the texture of play-dough (this should take less than a minute). The dough shouldn't be wet or come off in your hands, so you may need to add a bit more masa harina (depending on the brand you are using, as they absorb water differently.) Divide the dough into twelve pieces weighing about 1 oz/ 30g each. With lightly greased hands, roll each piece into a smooth ball. Keep any dough you're not working with covered with a clean damp cloth.
Get a clean kitchen towel ready and cut into six 6-inch/ 15cm pieces of parchment paper, which you'll need to help you press the dough. Place a large, nonstick frying pan on high heat. Place one piece of dough between two sheets of parchment, then, using a heavy-bottomed pan (or a tortilla press, if you have one), press down evenly and firmly on the dough to spread it out into a circle 4-5 inches/ 10-12cm wide. Remove the top sheet of parchment and use the bottom sheet to transfer the tortilla to the hot pan. Cook for 90 seconds until nicely browned, then flip and cook for another 1 minute to brown the other side. Transfer the cook tortilla to the kitchen towel, fold it over to cover and repeat with the remaining dough (cook as many tortillas at a time as will fit in the pan).
Warm the mushrooms in a hot oven for a few minutes if they have cooled, then pile onto a large platter and drizzle with the reserved chile oil. Serve with the tortillas, lime wedges, crema and both pickles (discard the tea bags from the onions) alongside.
Notes
Adapted from Flavor by Yotam Ottolenghi
1 Comment
"Chorizo" Tacos | Mark Bittman - Ever Open Sauce
June 22, 2021 at 4:37 pm[…] few weeks ago, I posted oyster mushrooms tacos with the fixin’s. The “chorizo” tacos will work nicely together with the roasted mushroom, avocado crema […]