Magic mushrooms
Metropolitan Home
If Ray Kroc had had Portobello mushrooms, beef cattle all around the world would be grazing easier today. Mushrooms have all the juicy flavor of meat but none of the heaviness. Grilled, topped with cheese and tucked into a bun, they make a burger so satisfying no fries are needed.
But Portobello burgers are only the most obvious example of how mushrooms can pass as meat. All the wild varieties becoming increasingly common even in supermarkets markets can go just about everywhere beef or pork or chicken can.
Portobellos are not true wild mushrooms — they’re just a much huger and more intense cousin of the domestic button mushrooms sold everywhere, and also of the dark Creminis and shiitakes that have been moving white mushrooms to the sidelines. Like true mushrooms from the wild, they all have flavors more nuanced than meat - morels are almost smoky tasting, porcinis are woodsy and chanterelles are haunting, for instance.
And while wild mushrooms may look forbidding, they’re surprisingly cook-friendly. They’re always in season, either fresh or dried, and they’re easy to incorporate into any meal. Even supermarkets now routinely carry cultivated portobellos, shiitakes and oyster mushrooms, but it’s not hard to find wild varieties anymore, especially in wintertime.
Mushrooms have been a mainstay of vegetarian cooking for generations, particularly in Russia, Eastern Europe, but they really came into their own in the Seventies. Moosewood Cookbook, the Bible of the meatless kitchen, has more than three dozen recipes for everything from soup to strudel using mostly button mushrooms. In Italian cooking, porcinis often replace the pork or beef in a Bolognese sauce for pappardelle, the ground veal in lasagne and the chicken livers on a Tuscan crostini. And in Mexican cooking, any mushrooms go into quesadillas and enchiladas and more.
Even in restaurants that celebrate meat, wild mushrooms are playing more of a role, in vegetable napoleons and terrines, salads and soups. New Orleans chefs often smoke them, which really intensifies the taste.
Mushrooms naturally go well with meat, like veal scallopine and beef filet, but they have a unique appeal on their own. Oyster mushrooms can replace pork in a Southwestern stew like chili, smoking with poblano peppers. Portobellos are as good as skirt steak in classic fajitas. Just about any wild mushrooms can be combined to make a meaty ragu touched with cream to serve over creamy polenta. And morels can be tucked into Polish pierogi, the Polish cousins of ravioli that are much easier to make.
Fresh mushrooms, wild or cultivated, need only a quick cleaning with a damp brush or paper towel before they are cooked (don’t rinse them - theyâre almost as absorbent as cotton). Dried mushrooms should be soaked in warm water to soften them and get rid of any grit. Unlike domesticated mushrooms, the wild kind are good any way but raw - they need to be cooked
PORCINI CROSTINI
1 ounce porcini
3 tablespoons butter
4 shiitakes, stemmed and chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons anchovy paste
6 leaves sage, coarsely chopped
1 tablespoon tamari or soy sauce
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
About 4 ounces very soft taleggio
4 slices country bread
Pour hot water over porcini and let soak until softened, 20 to 30 minutes. Lift out and rinse well in a sieve to remove any grit. Coarsely chop and set aside. Melt butter in skillet over medium-high heat. Add garlic and stir until softened, 1 to 2 minutes, then add porcini and shiitakes. Cook until shiitakes start to give up their liquid, 8 to 10 minutes, then stir in anchovy paste, half the sage and the tamari. Season with pepper to taste. Simmer until mushrooms are tender but not dry. Stir in remaining sage. Cut bread in half to create 8 triangles. Toast in 400-degree oven until crisp. Immediately spread with a thin layer of taleggio and divide mushrooms among triangles.
PORTOBELLO FAJITAS
6 large portobellos
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon dried oregano, preferably Mexican
2 teaspoons ground cumin
About 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
Coarse salt to taste
1 large red bell pepper
1 large ripe Hass avocado
1 tablespoon or more pickled jalapenos, chopped
1 ripe tomato, diced
About 1/2 cup chopped cilantro
1 sweet onion, like a Vidalia or Maui, peeled and sliced
4 medium flour tortillas
Stem portobellos and clean caps. Place in large bowl. Combine garlic, oregano, cumin and pi cup olive oil and pour over mushrooms, turning to coat all sides. Spinkle with coarse salt, toss again and let stand at least 15 minutes, or up to 1 hour. Heat broiler or grill. Lay peppers on foil-lined broiler pan and broil on all sides until evenly charred and blistered. Transfer to paper or plastic bag and let stand until cool, then slip off skins and scrape out seeds. Cut flesh into very thin strips. Broil portobellos, starting smooth side up and turning halfway through, until very tender, about 10 minutes. Let cool on foil off broiler pan, then cut into thick strips. Just before serving, peel and seed avocado and mash in a bowl with jalapenos and tomato. Season with salt to taste. Heat a very large skillet over a high flame until almost smoking. Add remaining tablespoon oil and onion and sauté, tossing constantly, until onion wilts. Add pepper and portobello strips. Heat, tossing, until pepper and mushrooms are warmed through. Heat tortillas in dry skillet or on griddle or in hot oven until soft. Spread each with a spoonful of avocado mixture, then top with a handful of portobello, pepper and onion strips. Top with fresh cilantro, fold up and serve.
MOREL PIEROGIS
Filling:
2 ounces dried morels (or other wild mushrooms)
3 tablespoons butter
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 large shallots, minced
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon caraway seeds
Coarse sea salt to taste
1/3 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
1 tablespoon fine dry bread crumbs
Freshly ground white pepper to taste
Dough:
3 cups flour, plus extra for rolling dough
1 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
About ² cup water
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons fine dry bread crumbs
For the filling, pour boiling water over morels in a bowl. Let stand about 7 minutes, then lift out with slotted spoon to clean bowl of hot water. Transfer with slotted spoon to sieve and rinse well. Drain on paper towels and coarsely chop. Heat butter in large sauté pan over medium heat and add garlic and shallots. Saute until softened, then raise heat and add chopped morels. Season with caraway and sea salt. Saute 10 minutes, stirring often. Stir in cream and simmer until thickened. Remove from heat and cool slightly, then stir in Parmigiano-Reggiano and mix with wooden spoon until all ingredients are evenly mixed. Stir in bread crumbs. Season with pepper to taste, then taste again and add more salt if needed. Set aside.
For the dough, combine the flour and salt in a large mixing bowl. Add 1 egg and mix as much as you can. Gradually add water while continuing to mix, until you get a soft, smooth dough. Divide into 3 or 4 parts and roll out one as thin as you can, as close to paper thin as possible. Cut out 3-inch circles and arrange on a baking sheet lined with wax paper. Spoon about 1 heaping teaspoon filling onto each circle. Brush edges with beaten egg, fold over and press to seal completely. Repeat with remaining dough and filling.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a rolling boil. Add pierogi (in batches if necessary) and cook 5 to 7 minutes, until dough is tender. Drain and keep warm on serving platter. Melt butter in skillet and add bread crumbs. Pour over pierogis, toss to coat and serve at once. Makes 4 to 6 servings.
MUSHROOM CURRY
3 tablespoons ghee or oil
3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh ginger
4 to 5 jalapenos, seeded and minced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon cumin seeds
1 ¸ teaspoons black mustard seeds
2 Portobello mushrooms, cleaned, stemmed and diced
1/2 pound shiitakes, cleaned, stemmed and diced
1 teaspoon coarse sea salt
2 teaspoons ground coriander
10 curry leaves (optional)
1 16-ounce can whole tomatoes
1/2 cup water
4 Red Bliss potatoes, peeled and diced
2 cups green peas, fresh or frozen
1/2 to 1 cup whole-milk yogurt
1/2 cup toasted cashews, broken into chunks
Chopped cilantro for garnish
Heat ghee or oil in large deep skillet over medium-high heat. When it’s very hot but not smoking, add ginger, jalapenos, garlic, cumin and mustard seeds. Cook, stirring, until cumin seeds darken and mustard seeds pop. Stir in mushrooms and cook, stirring, until they start to soften, about 5 minutes. Add salt, coriander and curry leaves and mix well. Crush tomatoes and add to pan with their juices. Add water and potatoes, lower heat to medium and cook, stirring occasionally, until potatoes are tender, about 15 to 20 minutes. Add peas and yogurt and cook, stirring occasionally, until peas are tender. Just before serving, stir in cashews and heat through. Serve with cilantro for garnish. Serves 4 to 6.
OYSTER MUSHROOM CHILI
12 tomatillos
4 poblano peppers
2 pounds oyster mushrooms (shiitakes or creminis can be substituted)
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 large onion, finely diced
2 jalapenos, seeded and minced
Coarse sea salt to taste
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 1/2 teaspoons oregano, preferably Mexican
1 1/2 to 2 cups water
1 19-ounce can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
Sour cream and chopped cilantro for garnish
Place tomatillos in dry skillet over high heat. Roast until husks char evenly on all sides. Cool, husk and dice. Set aside. Roast poblanos over open flame or under broiler until charred on all sides, then cool, peel and seed. Cut into a fine dice. Clean mushrooms and coarsely chop. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in very large skillet over medium-high heat. Saute mushrooms about 3 minutes, then transfer to large bowl. Heat remaining oil in pan and add garlic, onion, jalapenos and poblanos. Season well with coarse salt and sauté until softened. Stir in cumin and oregano and mix well, then return mushrooms to pan. Add 1 cup water and simmer 20 minutes, adding more water if mixture seems dry. Stir in beans and simmer 10 minutes longer, adding water if necessary. Taste and adjust seasonings. Spoon into bowls and garnish with sour cream and cilantro. Serves 4 to 6.
EXOTIC MUSHROOM RAGOUT
1 ounce dried morels, porcini or other mushrooms
8 ounces chanterelles
4 ounces lobster mushroom
2 ounces mousserons
3 tablespoons butter
4 cloves garlic, minced
Coarse sea salt
1 tablespoon fresh thyme, or 1 teaspoon dried
Pinch cayenne
1/2 cup dry white wine
2 tablespoons cognac
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 1/2 cups frozen corn kernels
White pepper to taste
Cooked polenta, rice or pasta
Fresh chives for garnish
Soak mushrooms in boiling water until tender. Rinse well and chop. If chanterelles are large, cut into quarters. Leave small ones whole. Cut lobster mushroom into 1-inch cubes. Wipe mousserons clean. Melt butter in large deep skillet over medium heat. Add garlic, sprinkle with sea salt and cook until just softened. Raise heat, add mushrooms and cook, stirring constantly until they just start to wilt, about 5 minutes. Stir in thyme and cayenne and mix well, then add wine and cognac. Cook, stirring until liquid is reduced to just a glaze. Add cream, mix well, lower heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until mushrooms are tender. Stir in corn and simmer until corn is tender and cream is thickened. Season with pepper to taste. Serve over polenta, rice or pasta, garnished with chopped chives if you like. Serves 4 to 6.