A MEXICAN FEAST! SEARED TUNA TACOS WITH PINEAPPLE SALSA & THE BEST CHIPOTLE MUSHROOM TACOS

After the rather fantastic Baja fish tacos I made the other week, I was hungry for more tacos and these two variations blew my mind!

Seared tuna slices (marinated in coriander, chipotle and lime), are layered on top of an avocado crema (avocado blended with chipotle paste and sour cream), the most delicious pineapple salsa, while wonderfully vibrant radishes are added as finishing touch to make one stunning taco, both in taste and look.

And then there were the mushroom tacos!!! My god...they were quite the revelation and "meaty" enough in their flavour and texture to convert even the most committed carnivore.  

Thick slices of portobello mushrooms are marinated in the most wonderful concoction of spices, orange juice and chipotle paste. before they are thrown onto a griddle pan for a proper char which gives them incredible depth of flavour. 

Add some smashed avocado and an irresistible chilli slaw and you get yourself quite the memorable veggie friendly taco!

Both these tacos totally wowed me and were actually also super fun to make! 

Perfect for when you want to impress dinner guests and best served, of course, with a spicy Marg on the side!

SEARED TUNA TACOS

INGREDIENTS

MARINADE

• 2 tuna steaks
• 1 chipotle, ground to a rough powder 
• ½ tsp dried oregano 
• Zest of 1 lime 
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil 
• Salt to season 

PICKLED RADISHES

• 12 radishes, thinly sliced 
• Juice of ½ lime 
• SALSA 
• 1 jalapeno, finely diced 
• 150g fresh pineapple, diced 
• Juice and zest of 1 lime 
• 3 tbsp coriander, finely chopped 

AVOCADO CREMA

• 2 small ripe avocado 
• 100ml sour cream 
• 1 tsp chipotle paste

TO SERVE

• 150g red cabbage, finely shredded 
• small tortillas

METHOD

• Lay the tuna into a shallow tray and sprinkle both sides with chipotle, oregano, lime zest and salt. Drizzle over the olive oil and coat well on both sides.
• Place the radishes into a small bowl, sprinkle with a little salt and squeeze over the lime juice. Mix well and leave to pickle.
• Next mix all the ingredients together for the salsa. 
• Lay the tuna steaks on a hot griddle pan and cook for 1 minute on each side. 
• Remove from the pan and let them rest up for a couple of minutes on a tray.
• Meanwhile heat up the tortillas in an oven until they are warm. 
• Slice the tuna and begin to assemble some tacos.
• Spoon the avocado crema down first, then cabbage, tuna slices and then the salsa. 
• Finally sprinkle over some pickled radishes and serve. 

CHIPOTLE MUSHROOM TACOS

INGREDIENTS

• 6 large portobello mushroomswiped clean
• 1 ½ tbsp chipotle paste
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• ½ tsp ground cumin
• ½ tsp ground coriander
• ½ tsp dried oregano
• ½ tsp sea salt
• 2 tbsp chopped fresh coriander leaves and stalks
• 3 cloves of garlic minced
• 1 tbsp olive oil plus more for cooking the mushrooms
• 4 tbsp orange juice freshly squeezed 
• 2 tbsp lime juice freshly squeezed 
• small tortillas

FOR THE CHILLI SLAW

• ¼ of a medium red cabbage finely shredded
• ¼ of a medium red onion finely chopped
• 2 tbsp lime juice
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• ½ tsp sea salt
• ¼ tsp dried red chilli flakes optional
• for the smashed avocado
• 2 ripe avocados peeled and pith removed
• 2 tbsp fresh lime juice
• 1 tbsp chopped fresh coriander/cilantro
• ½ tsp sea salt

FOR SERVING

• Lime wedges
• Feta cheese 
• Fresh coriander

METHOD

• Add the 1 and ½ tablespoons of chipotle paste, 1 teaspoon of smoked paprika, ½ a teaspoon of dried oregano, ½ a teaspoon of ground cumin and ½ a teaspoon of ground coriander and ½ teaspoon of sea salt to a bowl and mix well.
• Add the minced garlic and fresh coriander along with the orange and lime juice to the bowl and whisk well.
• Add the clean mushrooms to a large freezer bag and pour the marinade into the bag. 
• Rub the marinade into the mushrooms, be careful not to break the mushrooms.
• Seal the bag and leave the bag in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
• Mix all the slaw ingredients together in a large bowl and leave in the fridge until you are ready to serve your tacos.
• Add the peeled avocado to a bowl along with the chopped coriander, lime juice and salt.
• Using a fork mash the avocado until you have a rough mash.
• Cover and leave in the fridge until you are ready to make the tacos.
• Spray a griddle pan with a little oil.
• Place the mushrooms stalk side down on the pan and cook for about 10 minutes.
• Turn the mushrooms over and cook for another 10 minutes or until the mushrooms are cooked through. Place a large lid over the pan for this part, it will speed up the cooking of the mushrooms.
• Depending on the size of your griddle pan you may need to cook the mushrooms in batches. 
• If so you can keep them warm in a preheated oven.
• Slice the mushrooms when you are ready to serve.
• Heat the tortillas up in the oven.
• Spread a tablespoon of the smashed avocado on one tortilla.
• Add some of the red cabbage slaw, then top with slices of the cooked mushrooms.
• Top with a little crumbled feta, a good squeeze of lime and some coriander leaves.
• ENJOY!