I have nicknames for all my favorite people at the farmers market.
There’s Salad Lady, who gives me a good talking to when I skip the market two weeks in a row; Microgreens Guy, who’s suuuper passionate about his darling little greens; Strawberry Lady, who always has the sweetest, juiciest strawberries of the market; Salsa Man, who salsas to the best Reggaeton while passing out samples of his spicy salsa (yes, he salsas for his salsa); and Mushroom Lady, who sells the most colorful assortment of ‘shrooms I’ve ever seen. I’m going to miss these people when I move to Sacramento.
Mushroom Lady brought some good stuff to the market a few weekends ago. Like a lost sailor enraptured by Siren’s songs, my eyes were transfixed on two of the biggest, most beautiful portobellos I’ve laid eyes on. They were about the size of my head, and they were unbelievable. Those portobellos became mine in a hot second.
I’ve come to realize that I don’t give the mighty portobello enough love. We all know versatile they can be: grill it, sauté it, bake it, and even make them into tacos.
Yes, we can!
Since I’ve spent all weekend making the most out of my last days of summer (and by that I mean, eating and drinking way too much), I’m not ready for a new week to begin. I’m not ready to unpack, do laundry, plan my meals—pretty much anything related to adult responsibilities. Let’s keep things simple with an easy recipe that’s ready in under 30 minutes.
If the portobellos are the star of this dish, the harissa marinade would be the supporting actress. It’s the sauce that make the ‘shrooms burst with bold spicy flavor. We’ve used harissa to make chili before, but it’s great when used as a marinade. I usually use Mina harissa because their flavor is consistently good. What I like most about Mina is that they make mild and spicy versions of their harissa. I usually use mild harissa to flavor any foods and the spicy version if I want to add a little kick to it. Feel free to use another brand if Mina is difficult to find!
These tasty portobellos are just what I need after a weekend of heavy beer tasting, pizzas, and ice cream.
Harissa Portobello Mushroom “Tacos”
Ingredients
Portobello Mushrooms
- 1 pound (450g) portobello mushrooms
- 1/4 cup (60g) spicy harissa, or use a mild harissa
- 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 6 collard green leaves
Guacamole
- 2 medium ripe avocados
- 2 tablespoons chopped tomatoes
- 2 tablespoons chopped red onion
- 1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons lemon or lime juice
- pinch of salt
- 1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
Optional Toppings
- cashew cream
- chopped tomatoes
- chopped cilantro
Instructions
- Remove the stem of the portobellos. Rinse mushrooms and pat dry.
- Mix harissa, 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil, cumin, and onion powder in a bowl. Brush each mushroom with the harissa mixture, making sure to cover the edges of the mushroom as well. Let mushroom marinade for 15 minutes.
- While the mushrooms are marinating, prepare guacamole. Halve and pit the avocados and scoop out the flesh. Mash avocados and mix in chopped tomatoes, red onion, lemon (or lime) juice, salt, and cilantro. Set aside.
- Rinse collard greens. Chop off the tough stems and set aside.
- When the mushrooms are done marinating, heat 1 1/2 tablespoons of olive oil in a skillet or sauté pan over medium-high heat. Place the portobello mushrooms in the pan and cook for 3 minutes. Flip over and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes. Each side should be browned.
- Turn off the heat and let the mushrooms rest for 2 to 3 minutes before slicing.
- Take a collard green leaf and fill it with a few slices of portobello. Add guacamole, chopped tomatoes, cashew cream, and cilantro to your liking.
Notes
- *To make the cashew cream, soak 1 cup of raw cashews overnight. Drain water and blend cashews with 1 cup of fresh water. Use cashew cream on the tacos as is or add a pinch of salt and lemon juice. You can also make 1/2 or 1/4 of the recipe.
- If the harissa you are using is very thick, blend it with oil and add water one tablespoon at a time to thin it out. Be sure to adjust the seasonings too.
NOTE: This is NOT a sponsored post for Mina harissa. However, I wanted to highlight their harissa as I find the taste to be very solid.
Selena @ The Nutritious Kitchen says
Okay tacos are my life. Literally I LIVE for tacos, they are my favorite kind of food out there. I have never tried portabella mushroom tacos but after these photos I am pretty much convinced they need to happen. I have been having my fair share of indulgence too so these would be perfect!
Lisa says
Thank you so much, Selena!! I made them for a bunch of people yesterday, and they loved it!
Connie Brown says
What type of Harissa do you use? Is it paste, sauce or powder.?
Lisa Lin says
It is a sauce.
Lindsay says
This recipe looks so delicious! I’ve been eating vegan and clean for the past two weeks, and loving it, but I’m always looking for good recipes that seem easy to do!
Lisa says
Lindsay, I had no clue you were trying out the vegan thing! How is that going? Let me know if you try it!
Sydney | Modern Granola says
I love Mina harissa! And I love the sound of these tacos. They look so fresh and heavenly! I can’t wait to try this!
xx Sydney
Lisa says
Thanks, Sydney!!
Des @ Life's Ambrosia says
What gorgeous tacos! I am a huge fan of harissa and have been putting it on lots of things, not tacos yet though but that needs to change!
Lisa says
Thank you, Des! Let me know if you try harissa in tacos!
Ashley | Spoonful of Flavor says
Those big slices of portobello look amazing! I love any excuse to eat tacos and love the addition of the harissa!
Lisa says
I know! I was surprised how well those big portobellos cooked!
Traci | Vanilla And Bean says
Haha… all the names at the farmers market! For sure! I wish we had a mushroom lady, but we have to go a bit further for that. We used to have a doughnut lady at the market… but she’s no longer there. Farmer’s markets are the beeest! And they DO notice when you skip a weekend! hehe! Lisa, these look just fabulous! Your photography is beautiful and inspiring. I love how you paired the sturdy collard leaves with the king of mushrooms – both sturdy, flavorful and packed with good for you stuff! And the harrissa? Oh my! Can’t wait to give this a go! Thank you my dear and welcome back!
Lisa says
Traci, thank you so much for you kind words about my photos! Man, I wish we had a doughnut lady at my market! We do have quite a few pie/pastries/peanut brittle people though!
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine says
The wonderful endless possibilities with portobellos! And not to mention, I love harissa! (Mild for me) haha! It’s so flavorful!
Lisa says
Thanks, Rebecca!
Melissa Falk says
Can’t wait to try this one. It looks terrific!
Lisa says
Thanks, Melissa!
Patricia @ Grab a Plate says
I cannot tell you just how much I ADORE this recipe – from the taco format, to the fact that they’re meatless, and then the harissa marinade! And yes, those Portobellos are gigantic! Your photos are so beautiful and bring this dish to life!
Lisa says
Thank you so much, Patricia!! You are too kind!
Linda @ Veganosity says
This totally my kind of meal. Looks incredible! And I’m with you, I’m not ready to give up summer.
Lisa says
Nope, summer should never leave! I’m not used to the sun rising later!
Emily @ Sinful Nutrition says
Ohmygosh now I want to go make some farmer’s market friends while eating a plateful of these tacos! Just started reading your blog after seeing you were also going to Blog Brulee this year, and wish i had discovered it sooner! Love your writing style and gah-orgeous photos. Can’t wait to read more & meet you soon! 😀
Lisa says
Emily, thank you sooo much! I can’t wait to meet you in a few weeks!!
Zoe says
I love the spicy harissa in this recipe. What a great use of flavor! I featured this recipe in my recent post “30 Portobello Mushroom Recipes in 30 Minutes or Less”! http://vegan.supply/30-portobello-mushroom-recipes-in-30-mins-or-less/ Thank you! 🙂
Katie says
My oh my, I made these for lunch today, with some roasted sweet potato chucked in, and they were absolutely sublime. Thanks for sharing 🙂
https://plantymcplantface.wordpress.com/
Lisa Lin says
Katie, thank you so much for trying out this recipe!! So glad you enjoyed it!
Frances clark says
Sorry, I have never heard of harissa before, where do I find it and is that the only way to use it, in spicy dishes? Thanks
Billy says
I love this recipe, it looks so delicious! Harissa is so delicious and adds such a great flavor to almost every dish. Can’t wait to make this one at home! Thank you so much for sharing!
Sanda Kruger says
It looks great, unfortunately Keto should be 20g of carbs ( no sugar cause those add up) or less.. These 2 tacos will put me out of ketosis and even if I eat one, adding the sugar, is just not sustainable.. Would you modify the recipe in any way to reduce the carbs?
Thank you, Sandy
Lisa Lin says
Hi Sanda, there’s no added sugar in the recipe. What sugar are you referring to?
R. See says
Been eating paleo for the past 3 months, wanting to transition to vegetarian paleo and stumbled upon this recipe. So happy I did! This is absolutely delicious. I only had sliced portobellos so I just added the ingredients into a bowl with them and they browned nicely in a skillet. Thank you for sharing this recipe!
Nellie says
I just found this recipe on Pinterest and I’m looking forward to trying it this coming week! I have one question, the 10grams IOC protein listed, does that come from the cashew cream?
Susanna Snyder says
Wanted to love these. The innards came out great but Collard Greens as a wrap is a terrible idea. i anticipated this being a problem when shopping, but I like to keep to a recipe the first time I make it. Three problems: 1) Raw AND cooked collards have one of the most bitter flavor profiles of all the leafy greens; 2) They are also on the tougher to chew spectrum, especially raw and 3) they do not make for great shells as the spine of a collard goes FAR up to the tip, so they don’t curl without including the stalk that is not appetizing at all. After we made a terrific mess trying, we abandoned the collars and had little taco mounds to eat. Next time, we’ll make with plantain tortillas–a little starchier but still vegan.
chris says
Can i use harissa powder? No sauce in my area stores and too lazy to make from scratch! How could i use the powder instead?
Lisa Lin says
This won’t be exactly the same, but I would mix some canned crushed tomatoes with harissa powder. I find harissa powder spice levels vary, so taste it first. If it’s relatively mild, mix it 3/4 to 1 teaspoon of harissa powder? Something like that should work.