During the summer monsoons in Santa Fe, we forage for wild mushrooms—mostly porcini-like varieties—in the high-altitude forests of the nearby Sangre de Cristo Mountains. We’re always looking for new ways to use our earthy, robust bounty, and this woodsy taco is one of our favorites. Buy wild mushrooms in at least three colors or textures. They’ll add interest to the filling and give you the option of mixing less costly types with the more pricey ones. Avoid shiitakes and enokis, which don’t pair well with wild mushrooms (the enoki are too acrid, and the shiitake too powerful) or lobster mushrooms as they don’t cook at the same rate and remain hard. Aim for a mix that is woodsy, rich, delicate, and very flavorful. Good substitutions for fresh wild mushrooms are a mix of dried wild mushrooms and fresh criminis, or dried porcini and thinly sliced portobellos.

　　

Ingredients

makes 8 tacos

　　1 pound mixed wild mushrooms (such as hen-of-the-woods, black or yellow chanterelles, or morels)

　　3 tablespoons (or more) unsalted butter

　　2 cloves garlic, minced

　　2 teaspoons Porcini Paste (page 161) or truffle paste (preferably black)

　　3/4 teaspoon kosher salt

　　1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

　　1 1/2 tablespoons very thinly sliced fresh chives

　　8 (5 1/2-inch) soft yellow corn tortillas (page 13), for serving

　　Garnish: Roasted onions, chopped fresh chives, or fresh watercress leaves

　　

Step 1

Leave the mushrooms whole if they are small (about 1 1/2 by 1/2 inches). For any that are large, cut them in pieces (with their stems) lengthwise to preserve their shape and match the size of the whole mushrooms. You want all the pieces to be of similar size.

　　

Step 2

Preheat a heavy skillet large enough to hold the mushrooms in a single layer for about 2 minutes over medium-high heat. Melt the butter in the pan and add the minced garlic and the mushrooms and sauté until the mushrooms are golden brown and caramelized, 8 to 10 minutes. You may need to cook the mushrooms in batches to be sure they brown and not steam from overcrowding. Add more butter as the mushrooms cook, if necessary, as they have a tendency to absorb all the butter from the pan. Add the truffle or porcini paste, and cook, stirring, for 30 seconds.

　　

Step 3

Remove from the heat and sprinkle with salt, pepper, and chives. Serve immediately or keep warm in the pan until ready to serve.

　　

Step 4

To serve, lay the tortillas side by side, open face and overlapping on a platter. Divide the filling equally between the tortillas and top with salsa and garnish. Grab, fold, and eat right away. Or build your own taco: lay a tortilla, open face, in one hand. Spoon on some filling, top with salsa and garnish, and eat right away.

　　Tacos by Mark Miller with Benjamin Hargett and Jane Horn. Copyright © 2009 by Mark Miller with Benjamin Hargett and Jane Horn. Published by Ten Speed Press, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc.Mark Miller is the acclaimed chef-founder of Coyote Cafe in Santa Fe, New Mexico. He has started and owned thirteen different restaurants on three continents from 1979 to 2008. He is the author of ten books with nearly 1 million copies in print, including Tacos, The Great Chile Book, The Great Salsa Book, and Coyote Cafe. Mark currently works in International Culinary Consulting and lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico.Benjamin Hargett is a travel-loving chef who has cooked in Europe, the Carribean, Mexico, and the United States, where he worked with Mark Miller at the Coyote Café for many years.