Gourmet Mushrooms

At a  recent Epitourist gathering, I had the fun of putting together a course that revolved around mushrooms, and took full advantage of Laura's proximity to Kelly's Gourmet Mushrooms on Wolfe Island.

Here's the recipe:

Sauteed and Roasted Blue Oyster and Shitake 

First take a tour of the mushroom growing operation and marvel at the science that goes into creating the right environment and conditions to raise gourmet mushrooms. Owner-operators Darren and Deb studied with world-renowned mycologist Paul Stamets to perfect their technique.

Choose 2 pounds of the freshest available mushrooms (in this case Blue Oyster and Shitake).


Realize they are too beautiful to shred and dice, so decide to saute and roast.

Lay out all ingredients

• Garlic (2 cloves)
• Onions (2 small)
• Butter (about a 1/2 cup)
• Mushrrooms (1.5 pounds)
• salt and pepper to taste
• fresh herbs (oregeno, thyme)
• thinly sliced cheese (pick your favourite meltable)

Tear stems off shitake; slice the tips of the blue oysters but keep stalks attached. Melt some butter and cook a bit of garlic in a stock pot, then toss in the bits to make mushroom stalk stock for use at a later meal.

Thinly slice some garlic and onions and caramelize in a generous amount of butter. Enjoy the smell!

Begin to saute the mushrooms  - don't crowd the pan - take your time and saute in batches. Don't worry, this is a very meditative process and you are still under their magic spell. Don't fully cook as you will finish off in the oven. (I sauteed with a  generous amount of butter but next time will experiment with a dry saute).

Keep an eye on your onions!

Ten or fifteen minutes before serving, pop the mushrooms into a preheated 375 degree oven and finish cooking.

Take the thinly sliced cheese and layer on the plate so it melts underneath the warm mushrooms. Then place mushrooms in such a way that people can admire the shape and colour; drizzle with the caramelized onion and butter. Add your fresh herbs and salt and pepper to taste.


Risotto

The next morning, take the stock and 1/4 pound of the shitake mushrooms to make a comfort breakfast of Wild Mushroom, Pea and Pancetta Risotto from Melissa Clark's new book Dinner in an Instant.  Using the Insta-pot there is no stirring. I substituted scotch for the wine because we had a wee bit left over from our scotch tasting. It was quite aromatic in the pot but we couldn't really taste it in the final product. I also substituted bacon for pancetta. 

Go back to Kelly's Mushroom Farm the next day and pick up another two pounds of mushrooms to bring home. While you're at it, get a mushroom kit for your husband because you know he will love it (and of course he is a fun guy).

Make Creamy Mushroom soup with Shitake and Shitake Bacon for Sunday dinner.

Wait patiently for your Lion's Mane mushrooms to grow so you can try out more recipes.

Become a mushroom aficionado. In addition to being incredibly tasty, some mushrooms offer health benefits and healing properties. Passionate advocates say mushrooms can even save the world. It's not too late!