It is this time of the year. October is probably my favorite month (just a notch higher than December). I am also a fan of horror movies (that explains right?). There is a saying: every day is Halloween for a horror fan, we just go crazy in October.
Anyway, I tried making this on a black colored Foccacia-like-bread It didn't turn out as expected. The bread is soggy and dense and not fluffy and crispy. A close InstaFam of mine, @vincehomemade suggested a separate dish without the bread. It just clicked. I heeded his advice and redid everything again. It turned out brilliantly.
Does it look like a graveyard?
My youngest kid dislikes mushrooms but devoured this. She told me that it looks like a graveyard and it was too wicked cool not to eat. Here I wish you lovely people a very Happy Halloween!
Ingredients:
(Serve 4)
Toasted Mushroom Sauce:
Shiitake Mushrooms Stems Removed, 125g
Extra Virgin Olive Oil, 2 TBSP
Red Onion Finely Sliced, 1
Garlic Finely Minced, 3 Cloves
Sea Salt, Pinch
Black Pepper, Pinch
Dried Rosemary, Pinch
Heavy Whipping Cream, 120g
Mushroom Skulls:
White Button Mushrooms, 200g
Unsalted Butter, 2 TBSP + 1 TBSP
Red Onion Finely Minced, 1
Sea Salt, Pinch
Black Pepper, Pinch
Garlic Finely Minced, 3 Cloves
Dried Sage, Pinch
Cayenne, Pinch
Nori Flakes, Pinch
Pickling Juice Homemade / Fresh Lemon Juice, A Splash
Equipment:
Blender
Cast Iron Skillet
Directions:
Please visit my "How To Pickle Almost Anything" page for the recipe.
Prepare the roasted mushroom sauce.
In a cast iron skillet over medium heat, add the mushrooms.
Dry toast them until aromatic and dark brownish on all sides.
Remove from heat and transfer into a blender.
In the same skillet, drizzle olive oil.
As soon as the oil is heated up, add in the onion.
Season with salt and pepper.
Saute until lightly caramelized.
Add in garlic and saute until aromatic.
Add in rosemary and saute for another min.
Add in heavy cream and mix until well combined.
Cook for 1 to 2 mins.
Transfer into the blender.
Blitz until there are no large chunks.
Taste and adjust for seasonings with salt and pepper.
Give it another blitz.
Transfer into a bowl and set aside until ready to use.
*You can "clean" the blender with some warm vegetable stock. Blitz until smooth. Transfer into a bowl, season with some dried herbs, salt and pepper. Drizzle some toasted sesame oil. It tastes better than Campbell's.*
Prepare the mushroom skulls.
Slice the mushrooms in halves.
Create 3 small slits to resemble eyes and nose.
Create more slits to resemble the teeth.
Gently poke the eyes and nose with a chopstick.
And now, it resembles a skull.
In a skillet over medium heat, add 1 TBSP of butter.
As soon as the butter starts to melt, add in the onion.
Saute until translucent.
Season with salt and pepper.
Saute until lightly caramelized.
Add in garlic and saute until aromatic.
Add in the mushroom skulls and sage.
Saute until well combined.
Add in 1 TBSP of butter.
Cover and cook for 2 to 3 mins or until the mushrooms are lightly caramelized.
Add in the pea shoots and saute until slightly wilted.
Final taste and adjust for seasonings for salt and pepper.
Spread 2 spoonfuls of that mushroom sauce onto serving plates.
Dust some cayenne and nori flakes over the sauce.
Add a splash of that pickling or lemon juice.
Place the pea shoots and mushroom skulls over the top.
Serve immediately.
Let's feast...
Mushroomlicious...
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