Vegan Mofo 2017 – Day 7: An Original Vegan Dish

Pasilla Chili Braised Mushroom Tacos with Walnuts and Dill

The #VeganMofo theme for today asks us to prepare an original vegan dish that isn’t trying to replicate meat/omni ingredients. We love a good taco, so we thought we’d start there. Mushrooms are wonderfully full-flavoured and hold up well to strong seasoning, so we’ve combined them with a roasted Pasilla chili sauce. We give it a little crunch with some toasted walnuts and some herb notes with fresh dill. It makes for an unusual, but fantastic, vegan taco. One of the keys to this recipe is the use of refined coconut oil. It adds a degree of richness that is common in Mexican cuisine. Refined coconut oil has had the coconut flavor removed, leaving behind a rich oil with a very mild flavor. I’m almost temped to suggest that you skip this if you don’t have refined coconut oil to work with. It makes that much of a difference to the final product. If you have to, substitute a neutral vegetable oil for the coconut oil.

Pasilla Chili Braised Mushroom Tacos with Walnuts and Dill

 

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Prep time

20 mins

Cook time

15 mins

Total time

35 mins

 

Author: Two Happy Rabbits

Serves: 2 servings

Ingredients

For the mushrooms:

• 2 dried Pasilla chilies, stems and seeds removed.
• 3 cloves garlic, unpeeled
• 1 cup water
• 1 lb assorted mushrooms (we used a mix of crimini, shiitake, oyster, Portobello and lion’s mane. The bits in the photos that look creepily like shredded pork are the Lion’s Mane mushrooms)
• 2 tablespoons refined coconut oil (substitute a vegetable oil if refined coconut oil isn’t available)
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste

For the walnuts:

• 3 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped
• ½ cup raw walnut pieces, or roughly chopped walnut halves
• ¼ cup chopped fresh dill
• 1 tablespoon refined coconut oil (substitute a vegetable oil if refine coconut oil isn’t available)

To finish:

• 8 corn tortillas, 4-in diameter, preferably freshly made

Instructions

Prepare the mushrooms:

1. Heat a heavy bottomed skillet over medium heat until hot (a cast iron frying pan would be best)
2. Add the unpeeled garlic cloves to the pan and toast until well charred on all sides, around 5-6 minutes. Transfer to a plate
3. Add the pasilla chilies to the pan and toast for around 30 seconds on each side, or until well toasted but not burnt.
4. Transfer to a bowl. Heat the 1 cup of water until hot and pour over the chilies. Allow them to rehydrate for 30 minutes.
5. When they are rehydrated, transfer them to a blender along with their soaking liquid. Peel the garlic cloves and add them to the blender. Blend everything together until pureed.
6. Heat the refined coconut oil in a large frying pan until very hot. Add the mushrooms. Cook until they are well browned.
7. Lower the heat and add the pasilla puree to the pan. Cook until the sauce has almost completely reduced and the mushrooms are tender. Add a little more water if needed.
8. When they are done, remove them from the heat and stir in the red wine vinegar and salt. Taste and season to taste.

Prepare the walnut topping:

1. Heat a small pan over medium heat until hot.
2. Add the refined coconut oil and when it is hot add the garlic. Cook gently for a minute to soften.
3. Add the walnuts and cook, stirring frequently, until they are lightly toasted.
4. Remove from the heat and stir in the dill
5. Season with salt and set aside

To finish

1. Top each of the freshly prepared corn tortillas with an equal amount of the pasilla mushrooms and top with an equal amount of the toasted walnut mix.

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