Vegan Mushroom Tacos Guisados
Over the summer before we moved to Morocco for work, my boyfriend and I took a road trip around the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico and finished it off with a week on the island of Cozumel. As is the case with pretty much any trip, the food was one of the highlights–even as a vegetarian, I didn’t have any trouble finding delicious options. It helps that the best food in Mexico is probably all of the different salsas, which can make anything tasty.
We really enjoyed trying Mexican (and Mayan!) food we didn’t even know existed before. Once we got to Cozumel, though, I wasn’t expecting much from the food scene. Considering it’s one of the busiest cruise ship ports in the world, I figured a lot of places would cater to tourists. Well, there certainly are a lot of touristy places, but there are also some gems. One of them is a place called Guisados in San Miguel de Cozumel, the main town on the island.
Vegetarian tacos guisados from Guisados on Cozumel.
At Guisados, they serve tacos consisting of blue corn tortillas, rice, and various stews, including several vegetarian options. (When we went to Mexico City later, we figured out that “tacos guisados” is just a general term for tacos with a stewed filling.) I hadn’t seen tacos with rice on them before, but it made sense, as they could soak up the liquid from the stew and keep the tortilla from getting soggy. As a big fan of sauce and Mexican rice, I thought it was pretty brilliant.
Trying to make Mexican food in Morocco, though, can be a challenge. While cumin and cilantro/coriander are both heavily used here, access to non-Moroccan produce and spices is limited. That means there pretty much aren’t Mexican chilis here, which is kind of a big deal in Mexican cuisine. There are chilis, but…they’re all just called “peppers”. Everything is just a red or green “pepper”. Well, alright, there are two words in French describing them: “poivron” for bell peppers and “piment” (“spicy” pepper) for everything else. Hmm. Okay. So, I’ve been experimenting with a lot of different dishes trying to see what works, and without really knowing what kind of peppers I’m using.
So, I suppose this recipe is not just for people who want to try vegetarian guisados, but also for the people who don’t have easy access to Mexican ingredients.
Notes on the ingredients:
Mushrooms: I just used regular white mushrooms, but you could use any mild-flavored mushroom, as long as you cut it up into small pieces. I bought sliced mushrooms and then sliced them into thin pieces, but if you have a reliable food processor (and not just a trash blender like I do), you could use to roughly chop your mushrooms.
Chilis: I used fresh medium-spicy red chilis and didn’t de-seed them because I like it hot. They remind me of a red jalapeno: similar spiciness, mild flavor, but have a more sweet paprika taste rather than the fresh and green flavor. But you could definitely use jalapenos here if you want. And if you have some other favorite chili, by all means, use it! If you’re using dried chilis, make sure you soak them for a few hours ahead of time.
Smoked paprika: You can omit this if you decide to use a smokey-flavored chili like chipotle.
Tortillas: I used small flour tortillas just because that’s what’s available here in Morocco. Honestly, I would prefer corn tortillas, but at this point I have no idea where I’d get them, or even where I can get masa to make my own!
Mexican rice: I will include my recipe, but you could omit this if you want. I love any excuse to eat Mexican rice, but it does take a while to make! If you do decide to make it, it’s important to rinse the rice first to get the texture right, as this helps to get some of the extra starch off of it so you don’t end up with gloopy rice. This recipe is definitely more than you need for guisados, so you will have some left over. This would also be a good way to use up leftover Mexican rice if you have some from another meal. Plus, if you already have some rice ready to use, it will cut down on your prep/cooking time and make this a great option for a weeknight meal.
Recipe:
Vegan Mushroom Tacos Guisados
Ingredients
Instructions
- If making the Mexican rice, start on that first. Add the olive oil and rinsed rice to a saucepan over medium heat. Toast the rice until the grains are turning golden and they smell...well, toasty, stirring frequently so it toasts evenly. This can take a while; usually about 10 minutes for me, so be patient!
- When your rice is toasted, add the garlic, cumin, and Tajin. Stir around until fragrant, about a minute.
- Add the vegetable stock and tomato sauce. Stir to combine. Bring to a low boil and then turn the stove down to low and cover. Cook for about 20 minutes.
- When the rice is done, add the chopped cilantro and distribute evenly through with a fork.
- While you're working on the rice, you can start the stewed mushroom filling. Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat and add the onions.
- Cook the onions until they are soft and translucent; then, add the finely chopped mushrooms. Cook until they begin to release their water. This should only take a few minutes, since the mushroom pieces are small.
- Add the diced chilis. Cook onions, mushrooms, and chilis together for another 1-2 minutes.
- Add the garlic and dried spices, cooking for another minute or 2 before adding the tomato paste.
- Combine tomato paste with the other ingredients, stirring and cooking for another 2 minutes; then add the tomato sauce and vegetable stock.
- Turn the stove down and simmer until the consistency of the mushrooms is that of a thick stew, about 10 minutes. Taste to see if it needs additional salt.
- Place a couple tablespoons of rice on each tortilla, then top with a generous scoop of stewed mushrooms.
- Add any additional toppings you like, like fresh cilantro, fresh onion, pickled onion, and/or lime juice.
Additional notes and serving suggestions:
Serve with sides like chips and salsa or guacamole
For a higher protein meal, serve with a side of beans
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge and use within 3-4 days
I like to put leftover rice and stewed mushrooms together in a container and take it to work for lunch the next day
