It`s Always a Good Time for TACOS

It’s Always a Good Time for
TACOS
A little History
Some people top them with meat or stuff them full of
vegetables with dollops of sour cream, salsa and guacamole.
But, no matter how you eat them, tacos are one of the most
popular menu items, and according to Chef Doug Psaltis,
they will continue to be in 2014.
"Gourmet tacos - This trend is going to carry over into the
new year…chefs are getting the absolute best-quality
ingredients and putting them in tacos to make a much more
high-end product.”
Americanized and the demand
for healthier foods
Today’s consumers, young and old, are more health
conscious and looking for new ways to incorporate healthy
options into their diets, including when they are dining out.
According to The Food Channel, Americans have upped
their vegetable intake and a new trend is entering the
culinary world - enhancing your protein with vegetables.
They’re calling this the Hybridization of Food, the
Mushroom Council has been referring to this technique as
blendability since 2013.
How to Menu Mushrooms
Mushrooms are the perfect addition to any menu, not only in
casual and fine dining restaurants, but in University and
College campus restaurants as well. For example, adding
mushrooms to your ground meat taco filling can increase
your yield.
Tacos are limitless and are very adaptable, just like mushrooms.
Add mushrooms to Carne Asada tacos for added meatiness.
Swap chicken for mushrooms and add caramelize onions for
vegetarians and flexitarians. Or blend mushrooms into your
ground beef or turkey for larger portions and potential sodium
reduction. Tacos are popping up on menus everywhere,
customization and bold flavor profiles are enhancing tacos
beyond entrees, 24 percent more chain menus featured taco
appetizers in the third quarter of 2013 than they did in 2012,
reported by Gordon Food Service.
Recipes to consider for your menu: (click to open recipe link)
1. Mushroom, Potato and Chorizo Tacos
2. Mushroom Crepes Huevos Rancheros
3. Mushroom poblano tacos with goat cheese
4. Mushroom and Caramelized Onion Tacos
5. Jamaican Jerk Mushroom Lettuce Wraps with Papaya Salsa
6. Chipotle Mushroom Tacos
Restaurants Offering Mushroom Taco Dishes
Rubio’s
Portabella and Poblano Pepper Taco: A grilled veggie
taco with toasted cheese, fire-roasted portobello
mushrooms and poblano peppers, and topped with
hass avocado slices, and habanero citrus salsa.
Rubio’s - Portabella and
Pablano Pepper Taco
Eric Wright, Executive Chef at Cactus, offers a
Grilled Portabella-Vegetable Escabeche Fajita to
go along with his Chicken Breast, Angus Skirt
Steak and Mexican Prawn Fajita.
“The portabella mushroom is very meaty, and
you can almost treat it like a steak.”
Out of 1,300 chefs surveyed,
Tacos Tequila Whiskey
Hongos - Grilled shiitake, crimini & oyster
mushrooms, griddled cotija cheese, creamed cilantro
corn, and ancho chili crema.
Acapulco Restaurants
Baja Chicken Taquito - Grilled chicken, pasilla chiles,
mushrooms and jack cheese wrapped in crispy corn
tortillas, with salsa verde and salsa picante.
Mushroom Tacos on Campus
60% of them said tacos (as a “street
food” inspired main course) will continue
to be “hot” in 2014, ranking 44th out of
209 foods. Mushrooms (Asian varieties)
were surveyed at 42% “hot” in 2014,
ranking in at 122nd.
Mushroom Bulgogi Tacos
Chef Robert Mayberry, University of Texas, Austin
Grilled Mushroom Asada
Chef Edward Castillo, Rice University, Houston
Hugo's Restaurant, in Houston, serves Mushroom
Tamales on their lunch menu.
Mushroom and Beef Tacos with Salsa and Cotija Cheese
The Culinary Institute of America
Visit www.Mushroomsonthemenu.com for the latest news,
recipes and blog posts from the Mushroom Council.