Savory white mushrooms, carrots and spinach fill these lettuce-shell tacos, but the beet mole sauce, french fried onions. and goat feta make them extraordinary!
When was the last time you had really good vegetarian tacos? Right? Well it's about time you did. The savory blend of spices for the mushroom filling may surprise you. Is that curry? And the beet mole, well, you weren't expecting that either! Chocolate, cinnamon and beets work surprisingly well together.
As if these tacos weren't unconventional enough, they are also sans corn shells. For extra crunch, I added french fried onions to top off the dish. All lectin-free, of course, and Plant Paradox compliant, this recipe will take Taco Tuesday to another dimension. Read on to see how it's made.
The Recipe
Mushroom Tacos in Butter Lettuce Shells
1 Head Butter Lettuce
1 8 oz. Container Sliced White Mushrooms
1/2 C Carrots Julienne
2 Cups Fresh Spinach Leaves
2 T Olive Oil
1 Clove Garlic
1/4 t Curry
1/4 t Ground Coriander
1/4 t Cumin
1/4 t Salt
1/4 C Goat Cheese Feta (to top the tacos)
Beet Mole
1 Large Red Beet
1 T Olive Oil
1/2 oz. (1/2 square) Organic Unsweetened Baker's Chocolate
1 C Organic Vegetable Stock (to ensure compliance, make your own*)
1/2 t Chili Powder
1/2 t Cinnamon
1/4 t Cloves
1/4 t Allspice
1/4 t Cayenne
5 Shakes Chipotle Tabasco
1 t Raw Honey
1 Tiny Pinch Salt
French Fried Onions
1 Small Red Onion
2 T Sorghum Flour
1/4 t Salt
1/4 t Pepper
1 Egg
Pure Olive Oil for Frying
Instructions:
Start with the beet mole; it takes the longest. In a small stove-to-oven baking dish (I love my baby Le Creuset) with cover, add olive oil and peeled, diced beet. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until fork tender. When done baking, transfer to stove top on high heat. Add chocolate and spices and melt together. Add broth and other ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce flame and simmer covered for about 10 - 15 minutes until liquid is significantly reduced and it looks like wet molten chocolate again. Transfer the reduction to a small food processor and puree. Filter the puree through a screen to remove the beet pulp. Set mole aside.
Next, make the French fried onions. Turn on deep fryer filled with pure olive oil and set to 280 degrees. Slice the red onion thin and toss in 1 T sorghum flour in a small bowl. In another small bowl, whisk the egg. Drop coated onions in the egg bath. In the first small bowl, add the other 1 T of flour and seasoning. Toss the egg-dipped onions in the dry bowl one more time. Drop them into the deep fryer. Until golden brown and crispy. Let drain in basket until needed.
Next, separate butter lettuce leaves, wash, dry and arrange leaves in a taco stand if you have one. Otherwise, arrange them folded, propped up against each other in a row on a plate.
Next make the mushroom filling. In a pan on medium heat, saute the mushrooms and garlic in olive oil for about 5 minutes. Add carrots, salt and other spices and saute for about 3 more minutes. Add a pat of butter and saute for 1 more minute. Turn off heat and add the spinach leaves. This completes the mushroom filling. Save the goat cheese feta for assembling the tacos.
To assemble tacos, put about 2 T of the mushroom fill in the butter lettuce shell. Then top with goat cheese feta, beet mole and fried onions. Recipe makes about 6 tacos.
Pair with a delicious glass of pinot noir. Enjoy!