Fungus is gross. It can’t help it. But no fungus is more fun than mushrooms, those powerfully flavored, spore-producing bites of goodness. With a huge selection of edible varieties, each with its own texture and nuance, mushrooms in general provide a delightful undertone of earthiness to every dish they enrich.
Fungus is gross. It can’t help it. But no fungus is more fun than mushrooms, those powerfully flavored, spore-producing bites of goodness. With a huge selection of edible varieties, each with its own texture and nuance, mushrooms in general provide a delightful undertone of earthiness to every dish they enrich.
They’re great in salads, perfect on pizzas and even better in omelets. But for their most perfect application, you merely have to pair them with cream. There may be no better combination of flavors on this earth than mushrooms and cream. Think of cream of mushroom soup. OK, now think of really good cream of mushroom soup, not the stuff that comes in a can. Think of cream of mushroom soup made by a great restaurant.
Pretty amazing, right? You can make it yourself at home without too terribly much trouble. A little trouble, yes. But not too much.
Oyster Mushroom Soup with Walnuts in Red Wine is made up of two distinct parts, the oyster mushroom soup part and the walnuts in red wine part. If you want, you can just make the oyster mushroom soup by itself. That’s pretty spectacular as is. But if you have the time and inclination, I’d recommend making the walnuts in red wine, too, because they add a nutty crunch that enhances the mushrooms’ woodsy flavor.
With the heady marvel of the soup still coursing through my body, I next made the more prosaic Woodland Mushroom Quesadillas. More prosaic, but no less delicious.
Here, you mix three kinds of mushrooms — button, large portobello caps and sliced shiitakes — and sauté them with shallots and garlic.
Before you place the mixture between two flour tortillas and cover it with cheese, you have the option of mixing in some marinara or adobo sauce. Without the sauce, the mushrooms are nice. But the sauce makes them queen of quesadillas.
Next up was a dish that sounds complicated, but isn’t. Orecchiette Pasta with Shiitake Mushrooms and Sugar Snap Peas makes its own sauce out of the liquid that is exuded from the mushrooms as they cook, and then, when it is served, the sauce collects in tiny puddles in the orecchiette (the word means “little ears”).
For my final dish, I went to the king of the mushrooms, the morel. Morels are prized because of their unbeatable combination of flavor (full and hearty) and texture (honeycombed and sort of spongy).
They are so prized, they are ridiculously expensive when you buy them at the store, even when you, as I did, buy them dried and then reconstitute them.
The good news about the dish, Asparagus with Morels and Tarragon, is that you don’t have to use morels if your pocketbook doesn’t allow it. Any blend of exotic mushrooms will do.
Oyster Mushroom Soup with Walnuts in Red Wine
Recipe from Cooking with “Daniel Boulud,” by Daniel Boulud; serves 4.
6 cups chicken stock
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 cup leeks, white part only, thinly sliced (about 2 small leeks)
1 sprig thyme
2 bay leaves, divided
4 cups oyster mushrooms, cleaned, stems discarded, sliced (about 11/2 pounds)
1 cup potatoes, peeled, in 1/4-inch dice
Salt and black pepper
1 cup heavy cream
2 cups red wine
1/2 cup walnut halves
5 peppercorns
1 clove
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
1/4 cup of chives, minced
Begin heating chicken stock. Melt butter in another large pot over medium heat. Add leeks, thyme and 1 bay leaf and sweat until soft, approximately 4-5 minutes, stirring often. Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring frequently, for 10-15 minutes or until moisture has evaporated.
Add warm chicken stock, potatoes and salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil and simmer for 15 minutes. Add cream and simmer for 5 minutes more. Discard thyme and bay leaf and purée the soup in batches in a blender or food processor until smooth. Pour blended soup back into the pot and keep warm until needed.
In a small saucepan over high heat, combine red wine, walnuts, remaining bay leaf, peppercorns, clove and sugar and bring to a boil. Simmer until liquid is reduced to 1 tablespoon. Remove walnuts with a slotted spoon and set aside to cool. Strain the reduced red wine and add it to the soup. Slice walnuts when cool and set aside.
Serve garnished with the sliced walnuts and minced chives.
Woodland Mushroom Quesadillas
Adapted from a recipe from “The Whole Foods Market Cookbook” by Steve Petusevsky and others; serves 8.
3 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup chopped shallots
3 cloves garlic, minced
3/4 pound button mushrooms, thinly sliced
2 large portobello mushroom caps, chopped
1 cup stemmed and chopped shiitake mushrooms
11/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
3/4 cup marinara or adobo sauce, optional
16 (8-inch) flour tortillas
1 1/2 cups grated Monterey Jack cheese
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or spray with vegetable spray.
Place olive oil in a large pan over medium-high heat. Add shallots and garlic, and sauté for 1 minute, stirring often. Add mushrooms, salt and pepper, and cook, stirring frequently, until mushrooms are tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in marinara or adobo sauce, if desired.
Spread 1/2 cup of mushroom mixture over 1 flour tortilla, leaving a 1/2-inch border with no filling at edge of tortilla. Sprinkle with 3 tablespoons of cheese. Top with a tortilla. Repeat to make 8 tortillas.
Place filled tortillas on prepared baking sheet; do not allow sides to touch. Gently press tortillas down to make filling a uniform thickness. Bake about 5 minutes, or until cheese has just melted. Remove with a wide spatula. Cut into wedges, like pizza, and serve immediately.
Orecchiette Pasta with Shiitake Mushrooms and Sugar Snap Peas
Adapted from a recipe from “The Whole Foods Market Cookbook,” by Steve Petusevsky and others; serves 4.
12 ounces orecchiette pasta
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup minced red onion
1 cup stemmed and sliced shiitake mushrooms
1 large portobello cap, diced
1 cup sugar snap or snow peas, strings removed
1/2 cup minced scallions
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper
Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Add pasta and cook 8-9 minutes until it is al dente. Drain pasta, reserving 1/2 cup of cooking liquid. Place pasta in a large bowl.
Heat olive oil in a 10- or 12-inch nonstick sauté pan over medium heat. Add onion and sauté for 1 minute; add shiitake and portobello mushrooms and sauté for 4-5 minutes. Add sugar snap peas and sauté 2 more minutes.
Add sautéed vegetables to the bowl with cooked pasta. Toss well, adding a tablespoon or so of reserved pasta water, if needed, for moisture. Add scallions, Parmesan cheese and salt and pepper, and toss lightly to blend.
Asparagus with Morels and Tarragon
Recipe from “Edible: A Celebration of Local Foods,” by Tracey Ryder and Carole Topalian; serves 6.
2 pounds asparagus, trimmed and cut into 2-inch lengths
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
2 large shallots, finely chopped
1/4 pound fresh morels (or 1 ounce dried morels, reconstituted), cleaned and halved lengthwise if large, or other exotic mushrooms
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh tarragon, divided
1/2 teaspoon sea salt or kosher salt
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Have a large bowl of ice water ready. Put 1 inch of salted water in a large sauté pan, bring to a boil and add asparagus. Cook until just tender, 2-3 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer asparagus to the bowl of ice water. Once cool, transfer asparagus to a plate lined with paper towels.
Empty sauté pan and wipe dry. Heat 3 tablespoons of butter over medium heat. When foam subsides, add shallots and cook, stirring frequently, until golden brown, 2-4 minutes. Add morels and cook, stirring frequently, until tender, about 5 minutes.
Add asparagus, 1 tablespoon of the tarragon, salt and remaining 1 tablespoon butter and cook, stirring, until heated through, about 3 minutes. Remove pan from heat and stir in lemon juice. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed. Garnish with the remaining 1 tablespoon tarragon. Serve immediately.