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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.

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A corn tostada topped with shredded meat, black beans, crumbled cheese, sliced jalapeños, avocado, cilantro, and a lime wedge on a white plate.

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.

Pulled mushroom and black bean tostada

Serves

Ingredients

450 g 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
200 g 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

Instructions

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