Portobello Mushroom Tacos with Chipotle
Morita chiles are red, fully mature Chipotles. This gives them a unique, medium – hot smokey flavor which is popular in many Southwestern dishes. These can be added to sauces (including Mole) to add smokey flavor and maintain the red color of the sauces. These peppers are about 2-4 inches in length, 1 inch in width, and have a deep brick reddish brown color. The word Chipotle translated to smoked chile. Consider the Chipotle a 6.5 on a scale of 1-10 (10 being the hottest). Scoville heat units 7,000-25,000.
Makes 8 tacos
1 pound portobello mushrooms
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
2 teaspoons chipotle puree
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh cilantro leaves
1 cup grated smoked mozzarella cheese
8 (5 1/2 inch) soft yellow corn tortillas
Garnish: Lightly toasted pine nuts or pumpkin seeds
Tomatillo-Arbol Chile Salsa (see this recipe under Arbol)
Make the chipotle puree: In a blender or small food processor, puree the contents of a small can of chiles in adobo sauce. Refrigerate for up to a month, or freeze for later use.
Remove the mushroom stems, chop them, and reserve. If any of the mushrooms are large, scrape off the gills with a spoon and reserve. Cut the caps into 1/4-inch thick slices and reserve.
You will need to cook the mushrooms in two batches so they will brown and not steam from overcrowding.
Heat a heavy skillet for about 2 minutes over medium-high heat. Melt 3 tablespoons of the butter in the pan, then add half of the sliced mushrooms, and half of the chopped stems and any reserved gills. Add half the garlic, 1/4 teaspoon of the salt, and a few grinds of pepper. Saute the mushrooms until golden brown and caramelized, about 8 minutes. Transfer this batch of mushrooms to a plate, and repeat with the other half of the mushrooms, with the remaining 3 tablespoons butter, garlic, salt, and pepper. Turn off the heat and return the first batch of mushrooms to the pan. Add the chipotle puree and cilantro and stir to combine. Sprinkle on the cheese and gently stir to melt the cheese.
To serve, lay the tortillas side by side, open face and overlapping on a platter. Divide the filling equally between the tortillas, and top with salsa and toasted pine nuts or pumpkin seeds.