We’ve grown quite fond of meatless meals several nights a week. Don’t expect us to eliminate meat from our diets any time soon. But recipes like this certainly make it easy to drop meat from the menu more often.

As regular #FoodieScore readers know, we LOVE chef Rick Bayless’ cooking, in particular the recipes he shares in his Mexican Everyday cookbook. (We’ve also shared Yucatecan Shrimp Tacos, Black Bean Chorizo Subs and Huevos Rancheros from that book.) Well, this recipe is the next in line of great Bayless concoctions we love.

Zucchini and mushrooms are two of our favorite vegetables to cook in our kitchen already. Add those to a robust homemade tomato sauce, top with a little queso fresco and serve on a warm tortilla, and that’s pretty much all you need to do to put this dinner on the table in no time!

Be sure to check out the last step in the recipe before you start cooking, especially if you like a little extra zing for your tastebuds!

 

Zucchini-Mushroom Tacos

What You Need:

2 medium zucchini, cubed

1/2 cup sliced mushrooms

1 can diced tomatoes (15 ounces)

1 medium white onion, sliced

1 seeded chipotle en adobo

1 ½ teaspoons chipotle canning sauce

1 ½ tablespoons olive oil

salt to taste

1/2 cup crumbled queso fresco

warm tortillas, your choice (We love these homemade tortillas.)

 

What You Do:

1. Add oil to a skillet on medium-high heat, then add sliced onions and cook for about 2 minutes, stirring regularly, until onions begin to soften.

2. Add mushrooms and cook two more minutes until they begin to brown slightly.

3. In a food processor or blender, pour tomatoes, chipotle chile and canning sauce. Process until smooth. (If you don’t have a processor or blender, smash with a potato masher and then vigorously stir mixture with a metal whisk in a large bowl.)

4. Add the tomato mixture to your onions and mushrooms in the skillet. Stir regularly, and cook until the consistency of canned tomato sauce, about 5 minutes.

5. Add the zucchini, and continue to cook, stirring every once in a while, until the zucchini is cooked through but still slightly crisp, about 10 minutes.

6. Taste and season with salt.

7. Scoop mixture into a serving bowl.

8. Serve onto warm tortillas. We prefer our homemade flour tortillas.

9. Top tacos with crumbled cheese.

10. OPTIONAL: If you want more kick to your tacos, try one of these options chef Rick Bayless recommends for the tacos. 1) Use fire-roasted tomatoes instead of regular diced tomatoes. 2) Add hot sauce along with cheese when serving your tacos. 3) It removes the vegetarian angle from the tacos, but add chorizo sausage (and here’s an option for homemade if you can’t find it in the store) to your mixture. Begin with the chorizo in the pan, and then proceed with the recipe above.