Portabella Mushroom "Al Pastor" Tacos

I love tacos and living in Los Angeles has allowed me to taste a variety of amazing tacos—from taco trucks, to obscure taco stands, to night markets. My favorite would have to be Al Pastor tacos, mainly because it usually comes with fresh pineapple slices and I just love pineapple on everything (including pizza!). But I don’t always want to eat meat. As I’m writing this post, I’m realizing I actually haven’t had tacos OUT in a long time!!! I need to get my booty to a taco truck ASAP! I created a vegetarian Al Pastor recipe so that I would have a healthier option when making tacos at home. Plus, I love learning different ways of making traditional recipes to cater to different diets.

To make Al Pastor tacos, you need Achiote powder. This required me to run all over town for hours searching for the spice! You really have to go to a Mexican grocery store or Food-4-Less. Sometimes it’s available at western markets but that can be hit or miss. And for me it was all miss after miss. I think I went to three western markets on my side of town before I gave up and went further out to Food-4-Less. Even though it was a journey trying to find this ONE spice, the outcome of my recipe made the trek totally worth it! I impressed myself with this dish! LOL. Don’t worry—all the other ingredients are easy to find. Give my vegetarian taco recipe a shot! It’s really good, I promise!

PORTABELLA MUSHROOM Al PASTOR TACOS WITH PINEAPPLE (makes about 12 small street tacos)

Ingredients:

Marinade:

• 1 lb Portabella Mushrooms

• 2 tsp achiote powder

• 1 tsp cumin

• 1 tsp oregano

• 1 tsp garlic powder`

• ½ tsp chili powder

• ½ tsp salt

• ½ tsp sugar

• ¼ cup orange juice

• ¼ cup pineapple juice

• 1 lime, juiced   

• 1 tbsp olive oil

Additional Ingredients:

• small street style white corn tortillas

• 1 cup of fresh pineapple slices

• 1 mixed cup of chopped cilantro and diced sweet yellow onion

• 2 limes, sliced for serving

• salsa

Creamy Avocado & Roasted Tomatillo Salsa (optional):

• 4 tomatillos

• 1 jalapeno

• 1 ripe avocado

• ¼ sweet yellow onion

• 2 cloves of garlic

• 1 tsp salt

• ½ tsp chili powder (for medium spice)

• ½ lime, juiced

• 1 cup of cilantro

Directions:

Clean portabella mushrooms and pat dry. Slice them with medium thickness. In a large bowl, mix the mushrooms with the marinade  ingredients. In a large skillet over medium high heat, add olive oil and  saute mushrooms until cooked through. Set aside. Char pineapple slices in another skillet or keep raw. Warm  tortilla in a separate skillet. Assemble taco with tortilla, add cooked mushrooms, sprinkle cilantro & onions, top with pineapple and serve with fresh lime wedges and salsa. I served mine with homemade Creamy Avocado & Roasted Tomatillo Salsa.

For the Creamy Avocado & Roasted Tomatillo Salsa, roast the whole tomatillos and jalapeno for about 25 minutes in the oven at 425 degrees. Let cool. Then blend in a food processor with the other ingredients.