Pulled mushroom and black bean tostada

Pulled mushroom and black bean tostada

Oyster mushrooms, with their supple flesh, are perfect for pulling. Once pan-fried, they are crispy around the edges, and ready to soak up some flavour. I purposefully don’t salt them while in the pan - salt draws moisture out of mushrooms and while this is great if you want to cook them quickly, with a more moist finish, here I’m looking for a seared mushroom strip which is caramelized and a bit crispy. If you prefer a hands-off approach, roast the mushrooms instead; the results are fairly similar but because the mushrooms are irregular sizes, you have less control over how much they brown. There are a few shortcuts available to you here: substitute the black bean puree with a good quality canned refried bean (I say good quality because some brands are just bad, I quite like this one), skip the toppings and opt for a store-bought salsa (again, good quality!), use store bought tostadas. No cotija or queso fresco? Try grated parm (vegan one works great), grated cheddar, cottage cheese, or sour cream.

Serves 4
vegan friendly / gluten free

Print Recipe

Ingredients

• 450g (1 pound) oyster mushrooms
• extra virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• sea salt
• 1 lime, halved
• 8 x 5 to 6-inch (14cm) corn tortillas
• 200g cotija or queso fresco cheese, finely grated or crumbled (about 1 1/2 cups total) (vegan parmesan works here)
• coriander/cilantro leaves

Black bean puree

• 1 (15.5-ounces/440g) can black beans, undrained
• 1 garlic clove, roughly chopped
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
• sea salt and black pepper

Toppings

• diced cucumber, avocado, tomato or radish (or all of them)
• sliced pickled jalapeños
• hot sauce

1. Holding the oyster mushrooms by their thick stalk, pull it apart into long strips. Keep doing this until you have a pile of thin strands.

2. Heat a medium skillet (frying pan) on medium high for 1 to 2 minutes. When hot, drizzle with 1 to 2 tablespoons of oil and, working in batches, add the mushrooms. Toss to coat in the oil and then leave to cook undisturbed for 1 minute, and then toss again. Keep doing this until the mushrooms are dry and golden with crispy edges, 7 to 8 minutes. Cook the remaining mushrooms. (Alternatively, toss the mushrooms with olive oil and roast in a single layer at 400˚F / 200˚C until golden, 15 to 20 minutes)

3. Transfer the mushrooms to a bowl and add the smoked paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, 3/4 teaspoon salt, 2 teaspoons olive oil, and the juice of 1/2 lime and toss to coat.

4. Meanwhile, heat the oven to 375˚F / 190˚C. Line a baking sheet with a wire rack.

5. Brush both sides of the tortilla with olive oil. Lay the tortillas out onto a baking sheet, as many as will fit, in a single layer (don’t overlap) on top of the wire rack and bake until golden and crisp, 14 to 15 minutes. (If you don’t have a wire rack, place them onto a regular baking sheet and flip them over half way)

6. Meanwhile, place the black beans, garlic, cumin, coriander, smoked paprika and turmeric into a small blender or food processor and blend until it looks like a puree. I prefer it a bit chunky so I leave some beans unblended. Season with sea salt and black pepper.

7. To serve, spread a layer of black beans onto a tostada. Top with mushrooms, the cheese, the cilantro/coriander leaves, and any of the optional toppings. Eat immediately.