I feel confident in saying that you can make pretty much anything savoury using mushrooms, including meat like taco toppings. So here comes my mushroom “taco meat” with walnuts for a little bit of crunch and nuttiness. I put taco meat in citation marks because for some reason it doesn’t sound right to me and I tried to look up if this is a term used by anyone else but food bloggers but didn’t find any good answers. I also couldn’t think of a better term so here we are and “taco meat” it is also for this food blogger. Please let me know if you have any insight on this or if you workshoped a better term for me.

Anywho, this recipe makes a deliciously flavourful and umami rich replacement for actual meat as well as store bought vegan mince. For those of you who love mushrooms as much as I do this will be a delight and for those who don’t I still think you might enjoy it rolled up in a warm tortilla with a delicious salsa and some other bits and bobs. Try it!

Malin x

Mushroom and Walnut Taco Meat

Serves 4-6

INGREDIENTS:

2 tbsp avocado or rapeseed oil

1 white onion

4 garlic cloves

400 g chestnut mushrooms

100 g shiitake mushrooms

2 tbsp tomato paste

2 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp smoked paprika

1 tsp garlic powder

0,25 tsp chili flakes

Salt, to taste

1 cup toasted walnuts

Serve with:

Corn tortillas

Roasted tomato salsa

Black beans

Sweet corn

Fresh coriander

Sliced jalapeño, optional

METHOD:

Preheat a skillet over medium low heat. Peel and dice the onion in the meantime. When the pan is hot add the oil and when that is warm too toss in the onions and sauté until translucent.

While the onion is frying break the chestnut mushrooms into smaller pieces, using your hands, adding half of it at a time to the bowl of a food processor with an s-blade. Pulse until you reach a chunky, over sized, minced meat texture. Repeat with the second half of the mushrooms. Cut the tough stems off the shiitake mushrooms and pulse the tops like you just did with the chestnut mushrooms.

Peel and mince the garlic and fry with the onion for a minute before adding the tomato paste to the pan. Fry off the tomato paste for a minute or two, stirring often, to allow its flavour to bloom. Add the dry spices and a splash of water and mix everyhting in the pan together into a delicious flavourful paste.

Add the mushrooms, season generously with salt and coat them in the flavourings. Cook for 7-10 minutes or until the mushrooms have released their liquid and for most of it to have evaporised. The result should be on the moister side and tender.

While the mushrooms cook add the walnuts to the food processor, no need to clean it in between, and pulse to create a mince like texture again. This time it should be more similar to fried mince.

Once the mushrooms are cooked add the walnuts and stir them through. Taste and adjust the seasoning and serve as a topping for your tacos.

I suggest serving it with this roasted tomato salsa on top of corn tortillas. Finsih with some black beans, sweet corn and fresh coriander for more bite, a little sweetness and fresh herbaciousness. If you like heat also add some sliced or pickled jalapeños.

chestnut mushrooms mushroom plant based shiitake taco meat tacos vegan walnut whole food