Category Archives: Mushroom

Kimchi Soup (Kimchiguk) with Chicken and Potatoes

kimchisouppp

Kimchi (Korean fermented spicy vegetables) is known by us, foreigners, almost exclusively in its raw form, served as a cold side dish. Its use in warm dishes is less popular abroad and is not very tempting for some people. The first time I prepared Kimchi Fried Rice I realised that this kimchi has much more to offer than I had thought and its addition to leftover rice has become my regular trick to make this humble dish delicious and complex in just one gesture. With this soup I feel I have discovered a big new chapter of the kimchi possibilities. Just like in the case of fried rice, kimchi has released here complex flavours and aromas, giving a certain illusion of robustness to this evidently light and healthy dish. Unlike in fried rice, here kimchi mellows and loses some of its power, just enough to enchant even those who find raw kimchi too violent. It may sound strange, but there is something evidently comforting and homely about this soup, so exotic in appearance.

The original recipe comes from Growing Up In a Korean Kitchen by Hi Soo Shin Hepinstall, a fascinating book full of food-related childhood memories and homely Korean recipes, some of which are all but “tourist pleasers”. Apart from the famous dishes, I was glad to discover some interesting recipes most Korean cooking sources don’t mention. My first choice went to kimchi soup mainly because I had all the ingredients and because I have been tempted by the concept of a kimchi soup for quite a long time.

I have slightly modified the recipe. First of all, I jumped on the author’s suggestion and used chicken instead of pork. Apart from minor changes in ingredients’ amounts and procedures, my boldest step was to transform this soup into a one-pot meal, substituting tofu with potatoes. I can only hope my Korean visitors will forgive me and still allow me to call it “kimchi soup”. For the real kimchi soup recipe, I encourage you to buy the very special Growing Up In a Korean Kitchen.

If you wish to try kimchi in fried rice, here is a very simple adjustable recipe:

kimchifriedricep

Kimchi Fried Rice

If you feel like making kimchi yourself, here are some options, all very easy to prepare:

cucumberkimchip

Easy Cucumber Kimchi (Oi Kimchi)

daikonkimchip

Kkakdugi (White Radish Kimchi)

makkimchip

Mak Kimchi (Easy Chinese Cabbage Kimchi)

celerykimchip

Celery Kimchi (this is a short-term kimchi)

TIPS: The best kimchi to use here (or in kimchi fried rice) is well matured, strong kimchi, so it’s also a good way to use up kimchi leftovers.

I strongly advise here home-made chicken stock or at least good quality, natural stock (no taste enhancers, etc.).

If you wish a stronger, hotter soup, add 5-6 tablespoons of kimchi liquid.

Freshly squeezed ginger juice can be obtained by grating ginger and then squeezing the grated pulp (the below 1/2 teaspoon required about 1 cm fresh ginger).

Preparation: about 30 minutes

Ingredients (serves 2-3 as a main dish):

1 chicken breast

2 big potatoes peeled and cut into 2 cm/0,8 in cubes

7 heaped tablespoons Napa cabbage kimchi (cut into 1cm/about 1/2 inch pieces)

(5-6 tablespoons kimchi juice, if you want to obtain a stronger soup)

1 litre chicken stock

5 big shiitake mushrooms (fresh), sliced

3 garlic cloves, chopped

white part of 1 green onion, chopped

3 oz/ 85 g soybean sprouts (I have skipped them in the batch you see above, but they were marked as optional in the book)

Chicken marinade:

1/2 tablespoon soy sauce

1/2 tablespoon rice wine (I used sake)

1 small clove garlic, crushed

a white part of green onion, very finely chopped

1/2 teaspoon fresh ginger juice (see above)

1/2 teaspoon sugar or syrup

1/2 tablespoon sesame oil

salt, freshly ground pepper

Cut the chicken breast into thin, short ribbons.

Combine the marinade ingredients and mix them with chicken pieces.

Put aside.
In the meantime heat one tablespoon oil in a big pan.

Fry the garlic cloves and mushrooms for a couple of minutes.

Add the stock, the chicken, the potatoes, the kimchi (and kimchi juice if you opt for a stronger soup) and cook at medium heat until the potatoes are soft.

Add the chopped white onion, salt, pepper and cook for 5 more minutes.

Serve with fresh green onion or chives, or just the way it is.

Okonomiyaki お好み焼き, or Japanese Pancake with Eringi Mushrooms and Bacon

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Okonomiyaki (お好み焼き ) can be translated roughly as “grill what you like” (“okonomi” means “what you like/want” and ”yaki” means here “grilled”). This thick savoury pancake with an impressive variety ingredients might look weird, messy, not very appetising and definitely not photogenic, but I can assure you it is one of the most palatable dishes I have ever had in my life. In my opinion, if well advertised and popularised, okonomiyaki could conquer the whole world, just like Italian pizza did. It has certainly won over the whole Japan, even though it has origins in Osaka and Hiroshima. For me this is another example of a typically Japanese, but universally enjoyable dish. Depending on the ingredients and toppings, okonomiyaki could satisfy even the pickiest eaters and those who are afraid of the Japanese cuisine (yes, they do exist).

As its name suggests, okonomiyaki can be prepared with practically everything. At first it looks and tastes as if the ingredients were chosen randomly. In reality, in spite of many different okonomiyaki versions, there are certain recurring items such as a thick pancake batter, shredded or cubed cabbage or grated mountain yam (yamaimo). There are also two main okonomiyaki styles: Kansai (Osaka) and Hiroshima style. Both are very well described and accompanied by detailed recipes on Shizuoka Gourmet blog. Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki contains noodles, while Osaka (Kansai) style is lighter and doesn’t include them. My okonomiyaki is rather Osaka-style (thank you, Hiroyuki).

I heard – or rather read – about okonomiyaki for the first time on Hiroyuki’s blog on Japanese Cooking. Then I realised Robert-Gilles (Shizuoka Gourmet), Charles (Five Euro Food), Nami (Just One Cookbook) and Arudhi (A Box of Kitchen) have also posted okonomiyaki recipes. Hiroyuki’s award winning okonomiyaki included several types of mushrooms and was vegetarian, Nami’s recipe included squid, Arudhi’s shredded beef, Charles’s recipe was surprisingly Europeanised and free-style, while Robert-Gilles has posted a whole encyclopedia of different okonomiyaki styles, including the recipes… All these fascinating posts proved extremely useful, informative and helped me to choose the ingredients for my first experiment.

Here is my very first version of okonomiyaki. I must say it will be one of the most beautiful food memories of my life. The first bite of okonomiyaki is a magical experience. It is like an explosion of different flavours, colours and textures, which surprisingly stay in a perfect harmony. I love okonomiyaki also because it can be made with leftovers, because it is quick, healthy and because it encourages me to be creative. Thank you so much, my blogging friends, for your for help, inspiration, detailed information and, most of all, for making me discover this extraordinary dish.

My version doesn’t reproduce any of the mentioned okonomiyaki recipes because I have picked ideas from each of them and adapted to my taste. I wanted to keep my okonomiyaki as Japanese as possible, so I used dashi, dried shrimp, mountain yam, eringi and Japanese toppings too. I am very happy I have opted for the smoked and not raw bacon because it proved excellent here. If you want to start experimenting with okonomiyaki, I advise reading attentively all the above-mentioned posts and choosing what you feel will please you most.

TIPS: I find mountain yam (yamaimo) in organic shops in France, so maybe it is also easy to find in this type of shops in other countries.

Special equipment: a very big pancake turner is very useful here

Preparation: 20 minutes

Ingredients (serves two):

Batter:

50 g flour

30 ml dashi (Japanese stock, home-made or instant)

1 egg

3 cm grated mountain yam (yamaimo)

salt

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

(pepper)

Filling:

2 big white cabbage leaves chopped or finely cubed (the hard central “vein” removed)

2 handfuls chopped eringi mushrooms

5 tablespoons cubed smoked pork loin

4 tablespoons dried tiny Japanese shrimp (sakura ebi); I don’t advise other types of shrimp or dried shrimp from other countries: they might be chewy and tough

1 handful fresh mungo bean sprouts

4 thin slices of smoked streaky bacon

4 thin slices of eringi mushrooms

Topping:

dried bonito flakes (katsuobushi)

okonomiyaki sauce (I used tonkatsu sauce instead and it was great too)

ao nori (powdered light green seaweed)

mayonnaise

2 tablespoons oil

In a big bowl combine the batter ingredients except for the sliced bacon and sliced eringi. Add the filling ingredients and adjust their amount (the mixture should be very thick, not liquid and the batter should only bind the ingredients together and not dominate it).

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a frying pan or on a smooth grill (called teppanyaki grill or la plancha).

Put half of the okonomiyaki mixture in a more or less round-shaped heap (you can adjust it on the pan).

Put the bacon and eringi slices on top, flatten delicately the pancake, but not too much. Otherwise it might fall into pieces when you turn it over.

Cover the pan and let it fry at medium heat for 5 – 10 minutes.

Turn the pancake over, cover once more and fry for another 5 minutes.

Repeat the same with the remaining batter.

Serve the bacon side up, topped with mayonnaise, sauce, ao nori and dried bonito flakes.

Stir Fried Aubergine, Mushroom, Chicken and Cashew Nuts

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Stir fried meat or seafood with vegetables is probably my most frequent dish category, but since ingredients change every time I cook (depending on what I find in the fridge), I hardly ever post about it. However, my first combination of aubergine, mushroom, chicken and cashew nuts proved so good, I decided to put down the exact ingredients, write about it and, thus, share this easy Autumn recipe with you.

Aubergine season is over and the ones I buy grow in green houses, so strictly speaking this is not a seasonal recipe. In spite of that, the mushroom flavour of the aubergine combined with simple button mushrooms and crunchy cashew nuts created a definitely comforting, warming dish, ideal for cold days. Even the dark brown colours seemed seasonal. As I have lately told Kelly from Inspired Edibles, seeing her cashew butter, I love cashew nuts in savoury dishes. They have a delicate taste, which goes well with almost everything, and they add a pleasant crunch. Grilled sesame seeds are my huge addiction. I sprinkle them on the majority of my meals now, hence their presence on the photo (of course they are not obligatory here). Chopped shiso proved once more ideal with aubergine (I have discovered it in the Aubergine with Ponzu, Miso and Sesame Sauce), but it can easily be skipped. I served this stir-fry “donburi” style, i.e. on top of a bowl with rice, but it can of course be served separately and not necessarily with rice.

Before I pass to the recipe I would like to say I am particularly happy today because Mr. Three-Cookies (from Three-Cookies an Easily Good East blogs) has posted a modified version of my Easiest Apple Cake recipe, substituting bananas for apples. His cake looks absolutely luscious and original. Have a look at his beautiful Layered Banana Semolina Cake recipe. Thank you, Mr. Three-Cookies, for improving my awful Monday mood!

Preparation: 30 minutes

Ingredients (serves one):

100 g aubergine

100 g button mushrooms

50-70 g chicken breast

10-15 cashew nuts

1 clove garlic

oil

(3 chopped shiso leaves)

Sauce:

3 tablespoons soy sauce (or more if using low-sodium)

1 heaped tablespoon miso

2 tablespoons mirin

1/3 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Chop the garlic clove.

Cut the aubergine into thin, bite-sized pieces.

Slice the mushrooms.

Cut the chicken breast into strips or bite-sized pieces and season it slightly with salt.

Combine the sauce ingredients.

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a pan and grill slightly the cashew nuts. Put them aside.

Add some oil if needed and stir fry the aubergine for about 10 minutes.

Add the mushrooms, the chicken, the garlic and stir fry for at least ten more minutes (the aubergine has to be very soft and the chicken thoroughly cooked).

Pour the sauce, throw the cashew nuts into the pan, stir well for about one minute and serve (sprinkled with shiso if you have it).

Ragù alla bolognese, My Way

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If you ask Italian friends or family how they prepare their ragù alla bolognese, everyone will give a slightly different list of ingredients, the cooking stages, and, of course, everyone will claim his or her ragù is the authentic one. When one looks at different recipes from “prestigious” sources, carrot, celery, onion, meat, wine and a long simmering process seem to be the only recurrent elements. As for the rest… Some use white wine, some swear by red only. Some fry in butter, some don’t. Some add milk, others skip it… I quickly realised it’s safer to add “my way” when talking about this ragù and thus avoid quarrels with other passionate cooks.

Apart from the basic obligatory ingredients, there are however certain rules to follow. The first ones are the already mentioned long simmering process and respect of the cooking stages. If you try making it in 30 minutes, putting everything at the same time, you will obtain an edible sauce, but never an excellent one (I have made this experiment, but only once). Moreover, since this dish comes from Emilia Romagna (Bologna is its capital) and since spaghetti is not part of the regional traditions, this type of pasta is the big faux-pas. For me, regardless the traditional approach, this ragù’s texture simply doesn’t fit spaghetti. It tastes much better with shorter pasta or in lasagna.

The recipe I have been making for several years is based on the one from “Ma Little Italy” by Laura Zavan. The dried mushrooms it calls for enrich the flavours, while cloves are the hardly perceptible, magic touch I particularly adore. Thanks to them the dish gains in complexity and elegance. I must confess I have modified the original recipe, or rather impoverished it in what comes to the meat used. I only use ground beef and pork, while Laura Zavan also adds dried ham and ground veal. There is also an atrocity I commit: I always season it with soy sauce. Some Italian readers might have a heart attack reading it, but in my opinion soy sauce incredibly improves the taste. Maybe if I add “my way”, I could be forgiven…

TIPS: Do not try shortcuts or changing the ingredients’ cooking order! This ragù has to be simmered for at least three hours. It can be made in two stages, during two days.

Remember how many cloves you put. You should take them out before serving (unfortunately putting them in a special bag or wrapping in gauze doesn’t work here: ragù is not liquid enough and cloves have to be scattered).

Preparation: 3 hours

Ingredients (serves four):

450 g – 500 g ground meat (half pork, half beef)

1 big carrot

2 long celery sprigs

1 big or two medium onions

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons oil

100 ml red wine

500 ml chicken, meat or vegetable stock

a big handful dried mushrooms (the more aromatic varieties you use, the better, but even dried button mushrooms will be a better option here than the fresh ones)

1 teaspoon thyme

1/2 teaspoon rosemary

2 bay leaves

5 cloves

1 can (400g canned tomatoes)

4 flat tablespoons tomato paste

salt, pepper

soy sauce

Chop the mushrooms and soak them in boiling water (500 ml).

In the meantime chop finely the onion, the carrot and the celery.

Heat the oil and the butter. Fry together the vegetables and the meat until the meat changes the colour.

Pour the wine, stir and wait until it evaporates (the meat will start sticking to the pan).

Season with salt, pepper, add the herbs, the cloves the stock and the mushrooms with their soaking water.

Give a stir, cover and let the dish simmer for one hour.

After one hour add the tomatoes and the tomato paste and let the ragù simmer for one more hour.

At the end adjust the taste and, if you dare, add 3-4 tablespoons soy sauce.

Before serving take out the bay leaves and cloves. (Biting into a clove is a very unpleasant experience).

Korokke (コロッケ) with a Spicy Twist, or Potato, Meat and Mushroom Croquettes

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“Comfort food” usually means uncomplicated, nostalgic home dishes, often bringing back childhood memories. Sometimes, however, a new culinary discovery feels instantly homely and comforting, almost like a regular meal from a previous life. This is exactly what happened when I tasted these croquettes. They are simple, contain almost exclusively Western ingredients (apart from the Japanese panko, which in my opinion is at the top in the world of bread crumbs) and are so universally enjoyable, I cannot imagine anyone hating them. Even their cute shape somehow makes me smile and feel relaxed.

The name “korokke” (コロッケ) comes from the French word “croquette” and this dish first appeared in the Japanese cuisine at the beginning of the XXth century. Korokke are based either on white sauce or potatoes and contain such additional ingredients as ground meat, mushrooms, vegetables or shrimps. My first potato korokke bought in a Japanese fast food shop was bland and completely uninteresting. I didn’t think for a second of preparing anything similar at home. This was before I saw the version made by Nami (Just One Cookbook), the never-ending source of marvellous Japanese dishes. Nami’s appealing photos didn’t lie: her korokke have absolutely nothing in common with the bland pretenders I remembered. Thank you, Nami, for the umpteenth delight you have made me discover!

Since I have a very annoying habit of modifying even the perfect dishes, I did something I have been doing for years with mushroom and beef dishes: I added a bit of ground cumin. Its taste is not recognisable, but like in the case of my Mushroom Soup, it adds a certain je-ne-sais-quoi I am very proud of. I have also added more mushrooms and vegetables, so that they make at least half of the korokke mixture. As I have already mentioned, I often prepared korokke with button mushrooms instead of shiitake. The result was different, but by no means worse. I have skipped the raw egg since, surprisingly, my patties kept perfectly well together without any “gluing” agent. Click here to see Nami’s original recipe.

TIPS: Korokke can be prepared one or two days in advance, kept in the fridge and then taken out one hour before breading and frying process. If you use button mushrooms, double the amounts, since they are not as aromatic as shiitake.

Preparation: 1 h 30 – 2 h

Ingredients (serves 4):

1 kg potatoes

400 g ground beef

100 g shiitake or 200 g button mushrooms

2 carrots

1 big onion

salt, pepper

1 heaped teaspoon ground cumin

1 egg

10 tablespoons flour

20 tablespoons panko breadcrumbs

oil for deep frying

Chop finely the carrots and the onion.

Heat a small amount of oil in a pan, add the onions, fry them for a couple of minutes and then add the carrots together with the mushrooms.

When mushrooms start changing their colour, add the beef, salt, pepper and cumin.

Cook until the carrot pieces are soft.

In the meantime cook the potatoes. Peel them and mash them with a fork or with a potato masher, leaving some chunks.

Combine the potatoes with the vegetables. Taste the mixture and season once more if needed.

Shape flat round patties (mine had a 6 cm diameter), coat them first in flour, then in the raw egg and then in panko.

Deep fry in small batches (they should be able to “swim” easily) until golden brown. (I put some panko in the oil and if it starts making bubbles and fried immediately, it means the oil is hot enough).

They are very good served with the Japanese tonkatsu sauce (Bull Dog).

Mushroom Soup

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I should probably call this recipe “THE Mushroom Soup” because this is the only mushroom soup I have ever made and my all-time favourite, in spite of its evident simplicity. Last week, when I saw Hiroyuki’s mushroom picking adventures and his Japanese mushroom stew, I almost instantly ran to buy some mushrooms and made a big pan of my beloved soup. I haven’t picked mushrooms for ages and awfully miss this activity, but this soup is one of the rare dishes where I don’t regret wild mushrooms. It is one of the rare cases when humble, farmed button mushrooms are just perfect.

This soup has all the advantages a meal can have. It’s healthy and light, but nourishing. It is easy, cheap and quick. It also calls for very few, basic and easily available ingredients. Leek can be substituted with onions, but parsley is not here merely for decoration. Without parsley the taste is a bit boring and flat. A tiny amount of cumin enhances this basic mushroom’s flavours, but it’s not necessary.

Preparation: 30 minutes

Ingredients (serves two):

1 liter chicken stock (or water + granulated stock) or vegetable stock if you want a vegetarian version

200 g button mushrooms

1 big carrot

1 medium leek (only the white part) or 1 medium onion

pepper, salt, cumin

2 -4 tablespoons cream

parsley

(butter)

Clean and slice the mushrooms and the carrots (these should be sliced very finely).

Slice the leek’s white part or the onion.

Put everything in a pan filled with the chicken stock.

Bring the soup to boil and let on medium heat for about twenty minutes (or until the mushrooms start losing water).

Add the cream or the milk and, if you want, 2 tablespoons butter.

Season with salt and pepper

Serve sprinkled with chopped parsley.

Tama Konnyaku with Bacon and Shiitake, or Zero-Calorie Gnocchi

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If you have read this post about Shirataki, or Konnyaku noodles, you probably remember what konnyaku is. As a reminder, it’s a Japanese plant also called konjak, devil’s tongue or yam (Amorphophallus konjac), transformed into flour and then mixed with water to produce a sort of gelatinous, transparent substance, which is usually formed into noodles or rectangular blocks.

Until a couple of weeks ago I had thought the above where the only forms in which konnyaku was sold. This was before I saw these:

They are called “tama konnyaku” and translated as konnyaku balls, although in my opinion they look more like gnocchi. Just like the noodles and the rectangles, these are sold in bags filled with water, have almost zero calories, no carbs, contain lots of fiber and give a very quick sensation of satiety. I have bought them and only afterwards started to wonder how to prepare them. Thanks to Hiroyuki’s (Hiroyuki’s Blog on Japanese Cooking) kind translation of some Japanese recipes, I was finally ready to cook. I have also learnt, thanks to Hiroyuki, that my tama konnyaku were not just any tame konnyaku, but a high quality product. Another reason to cook them properly!

I have decided to combine both recipes I was kindly given, substituting dried squid with dashi (as Hiroyuki advised), modified them a bit and then had this crazy idea to add fried bacon (or the smoked lean pork you see on the above photo), onions and shiitake. The result was a surprisingly good combination of Japanese and Western flavours, giving a false high-calorie feeling (especially when lean pork is used). Black pepper somehow binds this fusion.

Preparation: 30-40 minutes

Ingredients (serves one):

1/2 package of tama konnyaku

5 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce (or 3 tablespoons normal soy sauce)

10 tablespoons dashi

1 tablespoon sake

1 teaspoon potato or corn starch

1 tablespoon oil

5-6 fresh or dried, sliced shiitake (if dried, soak them in boiling water until they are soft)

50 g bacon or lean smoked pork (sliced)

1 onion (sliced)

lots of freshly ground black pepper

Drain and rinse tama konnyaku. Cook them in boiling water for about 5 minutes.

Rinse them once more.

Put aside.

Heat the oil in a pan.

Fry the onion on low heat until it softens.

Add the bacon or lean smoked pork and shiitake.

Fry at higher heat until shiitake are cooked.

Put the onion, the bacon and the mushrooms in a bowl.

Without washing the pan, stir-fry tama konnyaku for a couple of minutes.

Add the soy sauce, the dashi, the sake and the water shiitake were soaked in if you used dried shiitake.

When half of the liquid has evaporated, add the cornstarch mixed with 2 tablespoons cold water and stir well so that it coats well tama konnyaku.

At the end add the onion and the bacon, ground black pepper, heat everything in the pan and serve.

Chanterelle and Goat Cheese Tartlets

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Last year I wrote about the Chanterelle and goat cheese tart. This recipe is more or less the same, but downsized into cute small tartlets. Chanterelles (Cantarellus Cibarius) have always been my favourite mushrooms and since I paired them with goat cheese for the first time in my life, I have never got tired of this perfect combination. The fresh marjoram is here, as the French say “la cerise sur le gâteau” (the cherry on the cake), in other words the last, perfecting, touch.

As I already mentioned last year, the tart and tartlets can be prepared either with ripening goat cheese or with fresh goat cheese. After many experiments I now opt for half of each and find this the ideal combination. Since fresh marjoram can be difficult to get, I grow it on my balcony or buy it and freeze it so that I am never short of it: the tartlets are not the same without this herb. If you cannot find it, don’t use the dried marjoram, which is too bitter. You can use oregano or thyme (both fresh) instead, but I am afraid it will completely change the taste. Personally I prefer to skip the herb rather than use something different. The tartlets are wonderful served at a party or simply enjoyed as an aperitif with a glass of white wine. Prepare lots of them, as they disappear in no time at all…

For those who don’t know what the chanterelle looks like, an old photo of mine:

Special equipment:

pastry cutter

mini-tart dishes or 1 dish with mini-tart cavities

Preparation time: around 1 hour 30 min

Ingredients (12 tartlets):

1 ready-made puff /shortcrust pastry package (mine was a 230g package) or your own home made pastry

250g goat cheese (I put half fresh goat cheese and half ripening, mouldy fat goat cheese)

400 g chanterelles

1 big onion

1 tablespoon oil

1 tablespoon butter

200 ml liquid cream (or half cream and half milk)

3 eggs

a bunch of fresh marjoram

salt, pepper

Preheat the oven to 180°C.

When it reaches the above temperature, cut out the slightly bigger circles than the tart dishes (or tart cavities) you have.

grease a mini-tart dishes (or a big mould with mini-tart cavities) and line them with the pastry, pressing with your fingers. Make small holes in them pricking with a fork.

Cover the flat surface with pieces of baking sheet and put some dried beans on it*. This way the pastry will not rise too much.

Precook the tart shells until it’s no longer raw, but still white or slightly golden.

Take it out, put the beans back into their jar and let the tart shells cool.

In the meantime wash the chanterelles, cut up the bigger ones.

Cut up the onions and fry them in oil. When they become translucent add the chanterelles and the butter.

Cook them on a low heat covered for around 20 minutes, put salt and marjoram leaves and finish cooking uncovered until almost all the liquid is evaporated.

Add the cream, the eggs and pepper.

Crumble the goat cheese on the precooked tart shells.

Cover with the chanterelles mixture and bake at 180°C until dark gold.

Serve warm.

*I have a big jar of dried beans bought especially for pastry precooking. You can use the same jar of beans for years.

Pasta with Eringi and Bacon

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Eringi is my most recent discovery in the mushroom world. I saw it for the first time about a year ago and it was a love at first bite! I buy it every time it appears, which means quite often and more or less all year, since my eringi is not picked wild, but imported from Korean indoors farms.

I have already written about this mushroom (click here), but, as a reminder, eringi (エリンギ, king trumpet, king oyster, saesongi 새송이, in Latin Pleurotus eryngii) grows in many parts of the world, but is practically unknown in Europe and particularly appreciated in China, Japan and Korea. I find the Korean farm video very amusing and interesting, so I thought I’d put it once more in my post:

When raw, eringi doesn’t have any smell or taste but stir-fried or grilled, it develops a subtle, inimitable aroma and the famous “umami” (うま味) or 5th primary taste. It has an elegant, delicate flavour and a meaty texture. Until yesterday my favourite and the only way to prepare it was simple grilling or pan-frying and serving it with teriyaki sauce.

Yesterday I decided to combine eringi with Italian pasta. Smoked bacon was a perfect link and a necessary addition for an avowed carnivore, and instead of hiding the delicate taste it brought out the “meaty” qualities of eringi. Since both parmesan and eringi are very representative of the umami taste, I have grated the parmesan on the top. The result was wonderful: simple dish with a complex taste. In my opinion it was a very successful intercontinental fusion.

I thought this pasta didn’t require any sauce, but if you think it’s too dry, a splash of good quality olive oil would be sufficient.

Preparation: 30 minutes

Ingredients (serves 2):

200 g pasta

300 g eringi (sliced lengthwise or cut in two, lengthwise)

100 g bacon cut into cubes

parmesan

black pepper

Cut the eringi in two (lenghtwise) and grill them or pan-fry in a small amount of oil.

In the meantime fry the bacon.

Put both aside in a warm place.

Cook the pasta.

Drain it and combine with the mushrooms and the bacon.

Just before serving grate some parmesan over the pasta and grind some black pepper.

Eringi & Teriyaki

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Called simply “eringi” (エリンギ) in Japanese, Pleurotus eryngii also bears such names as king trumpet or king oyster. Together with the more famous oyster mushroom (Pleurotus ostreatus) it belongs to the Pleurotus genus. In the wild this mushroom grows together with the roots of Eryngium plants, hence the Latin name, but it is widely cultivated too. Even though king oyster grows in the Middle East, Northern Africa and even Southern Europe, it is particularly appreciated in Asian countries, especially in China, Korea and Japan. I think they are not often cultivated and not easily found in Europe (apart from the wild ones in the South), but I am lucky to find them sometimes imported from Korea (where it is called saesongi 새송이 ).

The film below (click here to see it directly at Youtube) presents a Korean king oyster farm (I adore the funny way they grow in pots!) and shows the passion the Koreans have for this mushroom:

King oyster mushroom doesn’t seem very attractive when raw – it doesn’t have any smell or taste. However, once stir-fried or grilled, it develops a subtle, inimitable aroma and the famous “umami” (うま味) or 5th primary taste. Apart from the elegant and sophisticated flavour I also adore this mushroom for its meaty texture. I think it’s perfect quickly fried or grilled, served with teriyaki sauce. It is a wonderful starter, goes very well with grilled meat, but due to its delicate flavour it shouldn’t be served with hot or/and spicy dishes.

Preparation: 15 minutes

Ingredients (serves 4):

400g eringi mushrooms

neutral tasting oil

Teriyaki sauce:

6 tablespoons mirin

4 tablespoons soy sauce (or 3 if you have low sodium soy sauce)

2 teaspoons sugar

6 tablespoons sake

Bring mirin and sake to boil, add the soy sauce and the sugar. Stir until the sugar is dissolved and put aside, keeping it warm.

Clean the mushrooms if they are a bit dirty and cut them in two lengthwise.

Heat a non-stick pan or a grill.

Brush them with a bit of oil on each side.

Grill the king oysters or stir-fry until they are slightly browned (about 2 minutes on each side).

Put them on a warmed plate.

If you use a grill, bring the teriyaki to boil once more, let it thicken a bit and pour over the mushrooms.

If you use a non-stick pan, pour the teriyaki on it (don’t wash the pan after having take out the mushrooms) and let it caramelise for about 1 minute.

Pour the teriyaki over the mushrooms.

Chanterelle and Goat Cheese Tart