Swap in diced mushrooms for ground meat to make the ultimate vegetarian loaded nachos~ by Deanna Segrave-Daly, RD

Disclosure: As co-owner of The Recipe ReDux, I was compensated to manage this recipe contest. I am not eligible to win prizes associated with the contest. My thoughts and opinions are my own – and I’ve been a mushroom lover practically since birth.

In the past week, I’ve been in mushroom HEAVEN (and not just because I live a mere 25 miles from the Mushroom Capital of the World.)

Last year, when I attended and spoke at the Eat Write Retreat conference, I learned about the brilliant mushroom cooking technique of “blendability” (more on that below.)

Fast forward to last weekend when I was lucky enough to attend and speak at Eat Write Retreat a second time. We all got to enjoy a mushroom lover’s lunch courtesy of Iovine Brothers and the Mushroom Council at Reading Terminal Market (if you ever visit Philly, make Reading Terminal Market your FIRST stop – before the Liberty Bell or Independence Hall.

Just do it.)

Chef Bobby Fisher of Molly Malloy’s whipped up these dishes for us: Southwest Turkey Burger, Mushroom Tacos, Portabella “Cheesesteak” and Lamb Corn Dog, all made with some version of “blended” local mushrooms (of course my phone died before I got take photos the dishes.)

But I did get a close-up photo of these awesome Honey Capped Mushrooms – totally on my “next to cook” veggie list.

OK, so, what the heck is blendability?

In a nutshell, it’s swapping in finely chopped mushrooms for some of the ground meat in traditional recipes (think burgers, meatloaf, chili, sloppy joes, etc.) which:

• lowers the calories and fat content
• increases the nutrients (hello Vitamin D!)
• helps keep burgers and meatloaf moist
• results in an a super flavorful dish

And so, it’s good karma to me that this week our latest Recipe ReDux member challenge is sponsored by The Mushroom Council. The contest theme – “The Trend is To Blend” – uses the same blendability concept. (Here’s Serena’s Grilled Mushroom & Beef Kofta Kabob recipe contribution.)

See why I’ve been swooning over mushrooms lately?

So, now let’s talk nachos.

I can’t really remember the last time I’ve made or even ordered nachos. Often, they just seem to be a big soggy pile of limp chips, overloaded with toppings upon eating.

But not today.

This recipe seriously became my new favorite lunch last week – it never felt too heavy because I swapped all the ground beef out for the finely diced mushrooms, loaded on more veggies (avocado, tomatoes and peppers), used Cabot’s Jalapeno Light Cheddar and did a dollop of Greek yogurt instead of sour cream.

Still super hearty, not soggy and actually pretty darn healthy.

Print

Loaded Veggie Nachos

• Author: Deanna Segrave-Daly, RD
• Yield: 4 servings.

Description

Swap in diced mushrooms for ground meat to make the ultimate vegetarian loaded nachos.

Ingredients

• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 10 ounces white button mushrooms or baby bella mushrooms, diced (about 2 ½ cups diced)
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 4 ounces tortilla chips
• 4 ounces Cabot Jalapeño Light or Pepper Jack cheese, shredded
• 12 ounce jar roasted red peppers, chopped (about ¾ cup chopped)
• 1 avocado, pitted and diced
• ¾ cup diced tomatoes
• 2 tablespoons nonfat Greek yogurt
• 1 jalapeno, sliced for garnish
• Cilantro for garnish

Instructions

1. In a large skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add garlic; sauté for 1 minute, stirring frequently.

   Add mushrooms, cumin, smoked paprika, black pepper and salt. Sauté for 12-15 minutes or until mushrooms are cooked down. Drain in a mesh sieve and set aside.

2. Turn on broiler.
3. Arrange tortilla chips on a baking sheet. Layer with mushrooms and cheese.

   Place under broiler and cook until cheese starts to melt (about 1 ½ – 2 minutes) Keep your eye on the broiler as cooking times may be different depending on your broiler, where your oven rack is positioned, etc.

4. Remove from broiler and layer with red peppers, tomatoes and avocado. Garnish with jalapeño slices and cilantro. Serve immediately.

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Now I’m off to try some blendability tricks with the portabellas I just got in my CSA share yesterday. I’m checking out other ReDuxers’ posts below for inspiration.