For The Fans Of Fungus Among Us
Vegan Shiitake Mushroom BLT Sweet Potatoes
On a whim I decided to see if I could turn my sliced shiitake mushrooms into bacon, and I’m so glad I did. They hit the spot so much better than turkey bacon could ever hope to do, and they had a perfectly satisfying, crisp and soft combination of textures without those wobbly, gag-worthy chunks of fat you get with your pork bacon.
Fungi friends, I’m in love.
I can’t wait to try this with even better ingredients and with different cooking methods. I definitely don’t want to have the mushroom bacon on a sweet potato again. This meal would have been even better if I just used a basic bun, and then made the sweet potatoes into fries.
If you’re a sweet potato fanatic, though, or you just don’t eat bread, sweet potato toast would probably be even better than a baked sweet potato.
For now, here’s how I made this tasty little number.
Vegan Shiitake Mushroom BLT Sweet Potatoes
Ingredients
- 8 ounces shiitake mushrooms, sliced into 1/4 inch strips
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup (I only had cheap, corn-syrup based pancake syrup. It worked fine, but real maple syrup would be even better.)
- 1 tablespoon cooking oil of your choice
- Tomato, cubed
- Lettuce
- Additional salt & pepper
- 2 large sweet potatoes
Instructions
- Wash and poke holes in sweet potatoes. Dry. Bake at 425 for 45 minutes. Meanwhile, start to cook your mushroom bacon.
- Preheat cast iron on stovetop on medium-low heat for about ten minutes.
- Add shiitake mushrooms. They should be dry. You do not need to wash them, but if you do, pat dry with paper towels.
- Cook on medium-low heat for 20 minutes, turning every five. Do not cook in oil or season just yet. At this step, we're cooking out the moisture to help us achieve a crispy end result later.
- In a small bowl, combine garlic powder, salt, black pepper, chili powder, syrup, and oil. Oil and syrup will not mix, and that's okay.
- Brush sauce onto mushrooms. Toss to coat, then cook for 15 minutes longer. Avoid turning too often. Let mushroom-bacon have time to sit and contemplate identity crisis.
- Cook bacon until crispy edges form. They will be brown and shrunken in volume.
- Lay bacon on paper towel, pat excess moisture. Let cool to aid further crisping.
- Season tomatoes with salt and pepper.
- Cut sweet potato down the middle and stuff with lettuce, tomato, and mushroom bacon.
- Feast.
Notes
Add mozzarella or provolone if desired.
