Portobello Mushroom and Cream Cheese Taquitos

Hispanic Heritage Month. Officially September 15 to October 15. A month-long celebration I treat with the suspicion of a Puerto Rican who is familiar with the ways the dominant culture sometimes invents months to contain us, but which I also participate in, because Lucas's pre-K had a Hispanic Heritage Day on Friday and I was asked to come in and talk to the four-year-olds about Puerto Rican food.

I said yes. I cannot say no to a classroom full of four-year-olds, and I cannot say no to Lucas, and I cannot pass up a chance to teach. I brought two trays of arroz con pollo to the pre-K — made Thursday evening, portioned into tiny paper cups, with miniature forks — and I talked for five minutes to the class about how rice and chicken and a thing called sofrito come together on the island where Lucas's abuela was born, and I answered questions. The questions, from four-year-olds, were excellent.

One child asked if Puerto Rico was a real place. I said yes, it is a real place, it is an island in the Caribbean, it is part of the United States. The child asked, "But it is far away?" I said yes, it is far. Another child said, "My grandma is from Mexico and my grandma says Mexico is the best." I said, "Your grandma is right. Mexico is wonderful. So is Puerto Rico. So is everywhere your grandmas come from." The child seemed satisfied by this diplomatic answer.

Lucas watched me from his little chair at the little table and he was proud. I could see it. My grandson's face beamed. He said to his friend, "That is my Abuela. She makes the best food." And his friend, who was eating the arroz con pollo, nodded and said, "It is good." Validation from a four-year-old with a mouth full of rice is the purest kind of validation.

The teacher, Mrs. Alvarez, who is actually a Salvadoran woman from Bristol — so she got it, she got all of it — thanked me and said the kids had talked about "Lucas's abuela's food" all week before my visit. This is what it is to be a grandmother. You are known in rooms you have never entered. Your food precedes you.

Saturday Miguel Jr. and Jenny brought the kids over for dinner and Lucas retold the entire story of my visit to the pre-K, including embellishments — he claimed I had brought "ten million cups of rice," which was not true; I had brought twenty-four cups — and I did not correct him because the embellishment is part of the Delgado tradition. My father embellished. I embellish. Lucas has inherited it. The chain holds even when the chain is lying a little. Wepa.

When I got home from that classroom, I was still thinking about the little faces around those little tables — and about the child who told me her grandma says Mexico is the best, and how right her grandma is. That exchange stayed with me all weekend, and when Miguel Jr. and Jenny brought the kids over Saturday, I wanted something I could hand to small hands without a fork, something that travels across cultures the way good food always does. These taquitos — crispy, warm, a little unexpected — are exactly that kind of food: humble enough for a paper cup, good enough to make a four-year-old nod.

Prep Time: 20 min | Cook Time: 20 min | Total Time: 40 min | Servings: 12 taquitos

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil
3 large portobello mushroom caps, finely diced
1/2 small yellow onion, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
Salt and black pepper to taste
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped
12 small (6-inch) flour tortillas
Cooking spray or 2 tablespoons neutral oil, for crisping
Sour cream and salsa, for serving

Instructions

Sauté the filling. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the diced onion and cook 3–4 minutes until softened. Add garlic and cook 1 minute more. Add the diced portobello mushrooms, cumin, smoked paprika, chili powder, salt, and pepper. Cook 6–8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until mushrooms release their liquid and the mixture is mostly dry.
Mix the cheese filling. Remove skillet from heat and let the mushroom mixture cool slightly. In a medium bowl, combine the softened cream cheese, shredded Monterey Jack, and cilantro. Fold in the cooled mushroom mixture until evenly combined.
Warm the tortillas. Wrap the tortillas in a damp paper towel and microwave for 30–45 seconds to make them pliable and prevent cracking when rolling.
Fill and roll. Spoon about 2 tablespoons of filling along the lower third of each tortilla. Roll tightly and place seam-side down on a plate or baking sheet. Repeat with remaining tortillas and filling.
Crisp the taquitos. For baking: preheat oven to 425°F. Arrange taquitos seam-side down on a lightly greased baking sheet, spray tops with cooking spray, and bake 18–20 minutes until golden and crisp, turning once halfway through. For pan-frying: heat 2 tablespoons oil in a skillet over medium-high heat and cook taquitos seam-side down 2–3 minutes per side until golden all around.
Serve. Transfer to a paper-towel-lined plate. Serve warm with sour cream and salsa for dipping.

Nutrition (per serving)

Portobello Mushroom and Cream Cheese Taquitos — The Food You Bring to the Rooms You've Never Entered