New York Times recipe: Mushroom chicharron tacos

This simple recipe delivers meatiness without any meat. It calls for pan-searing hearty oyster mushrooms until they’re as crispy and golden as chicharron. They’re then tucked into warm corn tortillas and paired with fresh pico de gallo for a quick vegan meal. The resulting dish recalls juicy carniceria tacos that balance the richness of fried meat with the acidic punch of salsa.

Ingredients:

Pico de gallo:

1 large beefsteak tomato, cored and cut into ½-cm dice

1 large ripe Hass avocado, pitted, peeled and cut into ½-cm dice

2 jalapenos, stemmed and finely chopped (seeded if desired)

½ cup coriander leaves, finely chopped

3 tbsp fresh lime juice (from 1 to 2 limes)

Coarse salt flakes

Mushroom tacos:

500g oyster mushrooms (from 2 to 3 medium clusters)

⅓ cup neutral oil, such as canola

¼ teaspoon ground cumin

1 ½ teaspoons coarse salt flakes

Black pepper

12 corn tortillas

Preparation:

Step 1 Make the pico de gallo: Combine the tomato, avocado, jalapenos, coriander 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 frying pan 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 pan. 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 frying pan, 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 flat, smooth, heavy frying pan 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.

Serves 4

Total time: 30 minutes

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

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