Mushroom Recipe Plea Answered

I sent a call out for mushrooms recipes about a month ago. I wanted to hear what was going on in your kitchens, the ways you eat and create.
I had many nice responses but the Lobster Mushroom Bisque really stood out. Lobster mushrooms do have a shellfish aroma and nutty taste that reminiscent of shrimp shells, so it makes perfect sense to make a bisque out of them. I cooked it up a few days ago and ate it with a cheesy grilled fig and proscuitto sandwich, a perfect quick dinner.

creamy orange lobsterness

Naomi Bishop, The GastroGnome, sent in the recipe-

"This is unbelievably tasty...and uses one large lobster mushroom to make a soup that feeds at least 4 people. Simply make a roux using about half a cup of flour, about 6 tablespoons of butter (I didn't measure, so this is my best guess!) You can keep it light, just make sure the flour is all well coated, then add about 2 cups homemade stock (I used turkey, since I'm still working through last thanksgivings bounty) and bring to a boil. Add the mushroom, all cut up, then let it boil for about ten minutes, blend it (I used an immersion blender, so it all stayed in the pot, didn't have to transfer. After blending, I added a small handful of fresh thyme, salt and pepper to taste and a splash of sherry vinegar to lighten it up. This is still a thick and hearty soup, and makes an amazing meal. Sometimes I sautee chanterelles with rosemary and sprinkle on top."

This recipe stood out for its simplicity verses its sophistication. Basically I mean this recipe is fast and easy, but fancy enough for a dinner party, if needed. Her recipe was technically loose so I took it upon myself to measure and play with the ingredients, and come up with a ratio for all of you cooks that like to follow recipes to the T. The only big change I made was to add onion and milk to the liquid ingredients to give it a bit of creaminess.
Thank you Naomi, for your contribution!!


Lobster Mushroom Bisque, Nettletown version

An immersion blender is a must for making this a fast project. I was thinking a nice variation would be a touch of saffron, fennel seeds, celery and lemon to play with the "seafood" theme, instead of the thyme and sherry vinegar. If you try it let me know. I reserved a little bit of diced lobster mushrooms to garnish my soup, though sauteed chanterelles, like Naomi suggests, would be great too.

1 pound lobster mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
6 Tbsp butter
1/2 sweet onion, diced, about 1 cup
4 cups mild stock- like veggie or poultry
6 Tbsp flour
2 cups whole milk
2 tsp thyme, chopped
1 tsp sherry vinegar
1 1/2 tsp salt
black pepper or cayenne to taste

Dice a large handful of lobster mushrooms for soup garnish. Over medium high heat heat in a large straight-sided pan, saute diced mushrooms in a 1/2 Tbsp butter until tender and lightly browned. Add a splash of sherry vinegar and a sprinkle of thyme leaves, remove from pan and set aside. Place pan back on heat and saute onion and the remaining lobster mushrooms in 1 1/2 Tbsp butter for about 5-8 minutes, until vegetables begin to sweat. Add stock and bring to a simmer. Meanwhile in a large pot make the roux - heat 4 Tbsp butter over medium heat and stir in flour until incorporated, cook for a few minutes. Slowly add milk in batches, whisking constantly until smooth. Add warmed stock and mushrooms and bring to a boil. Simmer for 10 minutes until soup thickens and flavors combine. Add thyme, sherry vinegar, salt and pepper or cayenne and blend until smooth. Adjust seasoning and serve garnished with sauteed mushrooms.

More inspirations-
Many others sent in recipes (alot of soup!, its that time of year I guess) that all sounded great too, so here are links to a few more bloggers mushroom inspirations-
From the Desk(top)Russell H. Everett - The Sexiest Soup Ever with chicken-of-woods
From Phoo-d - Mushroom "Cappuccino" with Truffle Foam
Cook Local - Wild Mushroom and Fig Risotto

Eek! The Zucchini Are Coming!!

Great, grand, abundant, ample, enormous- all words that can be used to describe the vegetable with humongous possibility many gardeners are graced/laden with this time of year. A few days ago (August 8th) was National Zucchini Day, formally known as Sneak Some Zucchini Onto Your Neighbor's Porch Day. I love this idea - after the sun goes down the zucchini people come out, creeping around the neighborhood with their hefty organic baggage, who are either exacerbated at what more to do with their bounty or just excited to play Secret Summer Squash Santa.

I remember a fellow cook telling me he didn't like summer squash (" boring, plebeian, nothing special"). I was shocked and felt pains for all the zucchini he may have neglected in his life. I quickly expressed my love for this most versatile vegetable and explained my favorite ways to enjoy summer squash.
Grilled, fried, fritters, pickled, raw.... And there is so much variety possible under the summer squash leaf umbrella - in addition to the common green zucchini and yellow crooknecks, there are multiple colors in all shapes and sizes -bright yellow, creamy yellow, dark green, speckled green, minty green, patty pans, ridged, bumped, round, crooked. I don't recommend growing this many types or you will be forced to play Squash Santa, but you can always find a large variety at the farmer's market. My personal favorite varieties are the flavorful costata romanesca, a green-speckled striped ridged Italian heirloom variety, and the little fine-textured pale green tromboncino pictured below. I tried to grow the costata romanesca zuke this year but I think my baby was switched at the nursery- I got a green eight ball variety instead.
Ideas for the Summer Squash Glut

These have been my standbys year after year....

Grilled- See my recipe from a couple weeks ago for Grilled Zucchini with Red Huckleberries and Feta

Fried- Try zucchini fries- battered or dry, oven-baked or fried.

Fritters- Turkish zucchini cakes with dill and served with yogurt sauce. Check out this recipe for Kabak Mucveri. This is a good way to use the bigger squashes.

Pickled- Every where you look on the interweb for zuke pickle recipes you run into Judy Rogers' awesome version for Zuni Cafe Zucchini Pickles. Check it out here. Another fun spicy version is here.

Raw- Use a mix of small to medium multi-colored summer squashes. This is a beautiful display of summer squash's pleasing colors and silhouettes. Shave squash thin on a mandoline and toss with lemon, olive oil, salt, and a fresh herb. Good herb pairings - basil, mint, tarragon, chives, fennel pollen. Try on top of grilled bread with fresh mozzarella.

Soup- Chilled green zucchini soup thickened with potato and topped with yogurt. See recipe below.

Eggy- Like my grandma used to make - a little sliced onion with zucchini cooked soft and soupy and eggs stirred in at the end. Recipe below.

Spread- An easy Tunisian dish-boil whole zucchini til soft, mash, drain excess liquid, and mix with harissa, garlic, lemon, caraway, coriander and olive oil. Yum. Yum yum on fresh pita with feta cheese.

Curry- Made this for the first time the other day- I think it will be a new standby- coconut turmeric lemongrass curry with summer squash and cherry tomatoes. Just make a favorite curry sauce, drop in squash and cook til tender. Remove from heat and stir in cherry tomatoes. I served mine with quinoa and a plethora of aromatic herbs and lettuce on the side.

Soft Zucchini and Eggs

This sounds simple, and it is easy to make, but for just a few ingredients it is so tasty and satisfying. I like this as a quick lunch. My grandma would make this as a side dish with dinner. My partner says this is his favorite breakfast.
I have never measured anything out when i make this- the technique is the most important part. The soft wet texture of the dish is best with "zucchini style" summer squash- the green or yellow straight tube varieties.


butter, a couple pats
onion, about a half, sliced thin
2-3 medium zucchini, sliced thick(1/3 -1/2 inch)
2-4 eggs, beaten
S+P
basil, optional

Heat frying pan (nonstick is nice because of the eggs but not necessary) over medium high heat. Add butter, onions and zucchini. Stir about and season with salt and pepper. Turn down heat to medium to keep vegetables from browning. Cook until zukes are tender, soft and vegetables release liquid. If not that much liquid comes out add a water to cover bottom of pan by about a half inch. I aim for a mix of textures- some of the zuke pieces to be just turning soft and some to be on the mushy side.
Add eggs and stir until they begin to set. Pull off heat and continue stirring until eggs turn to soft curds. Stir in optional basil and enjoy.

Chilled Humongous Zucchini and Potato Soup With Yogurt

This is great dish to rid yourself of huge zucchini. Honestly, it might taste a nip better with the younger sweeter sizes but it is still delicious with the big ones and a nice alternative to the ubiquitous zucchini bread. This makes a lot- share or freeze for later use.
During 'Heat Wave 2009' a couple weeks ago I made this in the morning coolness and brought the vat to an after-the-hot-hot-sun-goes-down-late-night-BBQ. All I wanted to eat that week was chilled soup. There is only a little bit of potato in here to give it that pleasing thick grainy texture. The cucumber is optional but helps lighten the soup, and very convenient if you have excess of those too. And this is actually really good hot or cold.

Olive oil
1 large or two medium onions, sliced
3-4 garlic cloves, peeled
2 large russet potatoes, peeled and sliced thin
2 humongous zucchini, halve and remove any big hard seeds, sliced thin
1-2 cucumbers, peeled(unless soft skin variety), large seeds removed, and sliced thin, optional
5 -6 scallions, green and white part separated and chopped
a few handfuls of herbs- parsley, dill, and mint, chopped
S+P
plain yogurt- flavor with herbs if desired

In a large pot saute onion and garlic in olive oil until translucent. Season with salt and pepper. Add potatoes and cover with water. Bring to a boil and simmer until tender. Add zucchini, optional cucumber, and white part of scallions. Stir and push down into liquid. Just cover by 1 inch with water and bring to a boil for a couple minutes. Remove from heat. Residual heat will continue to cook vegetables. Stir in half of the chopped herbs. Let cool to room temperature. If desired place in a ice water bath to speed up this process.
Once cool, puree soup with green scallion tops, remaining herbs, and a glug of olive oil. Adjust the seasoning with salt and herbs and consistency with water if needed. Chill until cold.
Serve with a swirl of yogurt and lemon wedges.

Bam! nettles in your face

Nettles are everywhere this year.

If you are looking you probably will find them. They grow abundantly, well, are invasive in parks, farms, roadside lots. But the word is spreading in the cooking world- stinging nettles are awesome. I have read quite a few gushing articles here and there lately and seen many interesting recipes too. Fat Of The Land can't seem to stop talking about them- it's understandable- once you eat them it is easy to get hooked. FOTL has some great posts on nettle tonic and first of spring nettles. At Foraged and Found Edibles we have been selling them since late winter, slowly picking our way through the Northwest towards higher and cooler micro climates, moving on when one area begins flowering.

I thought for my first feature stinging nettles would make perfect sense for Nettletown blog....

Why are nettles so awesome?
First of all, as I mentioned they grow everywhere- prolifically in many places all over the world. Secondly, they are delicious- rich green flavor and a toothsome and delicate texture at the same time. Thirdly, they are incredibly healthy for you (off the charts!)- high in vitamins A and C, protein, iron, calcium, potassium, and magnesium. One of the most widely spread, tasty, and healthiest green wild plants you can find!

Mama always said eat your nettles
My first exposure to nettles as food was through Italian cuisine- nettle gnocchi and nettle ricotta filled ravioli are common nettle imbued versions of these favorites. After years of harvesting I have expanded my nettle repertoire. My favorite use now is in green fillings for Mediterranean style pies, such as a nettle version of spanikopita or something like my recipe in the 2009 Illustrated Wild Foods Recipe Calendar for Flaky Semolina Flatbread Stuffed With Nettles And Herbs. This tasty filling is a great way to use whatever greens and herbs you have foraged or might have in your fridge or garden. Also perfect not only as a bread or pastry filling but also eaten tossed with pasta or in frittata.

In the spring harvest a large bag once a week and just keep it in the fridge adding to dishes throughout the week. Easy to throw into soups, stewed beans, or eggs dishes for extra greens and nutrition. You can even cook a pot full and just have them ready to use. Blanch nettles in boiling water for a few minutes, strain out greens, cool in ice water or on a tray, and remember to save the cooking liquid. Drink blanching water as tea with honey, use for soup stock, or water your house plants.

Pureed nettle soup is always a welcome way to basically just drink the green gold. Nettle, green garlic, and potato soup anyone? Or a miso nettle soup/cure- just boil water add nettles and a slice of ginger or clove of garlic and cook for a few minutes, take off heat, add a spoonful of miso and puree.

Preserving for year round use:
>Freeze cooked nettles- whole, chopped or purreed.
>Nettle pesto- this would freeze well for a couple months.
>Dried nettle possibilities- Teas- a foraged tea mix for boosting your immune system of nettles, elderberries, elder flowers or a morning tea mix of nettles, mate and mint. Infusion- making an overnight infusion of dried nettles increases the health giving properties significantly. Boil water, add dry nettles, cover and let sit overnight. More information about this wonder drink from cavemanfood and Conscious Choice. Dried herb- homemade spice or salt seasoning mixes; crumbled or powdered to enrich soups or pilafs or even smoothies. Dried vegetable- try making a healthy backpacking soup mix with dried nettles, dried porcinis, lentils and rice.

Harvesting
Nettles are one of the first plants to pop out of the ground in early spring. Harvest until flowering in late spring or early summer. As the season progresses head for higher land to find younger plants. After plants get taller than 8 to 10 inches, harvest only the top two sets of leaves for the most tender and nutritious part. As the plant gets older the lower leaves become gritty and tough. Use gardening gloves and scissors to trim just under the top two leaf sets. If you cut close enough you won’t need to trim any tough stem off later when cooking.

And even more from the useful nettle……… There are so many known uses a whole book could be written about this wonder plant. A small list- Make rope out of dried stem fibers; a nourishing survival food if you ever get lost; tea can be used for- watering plants, hair tonic, bath water; nettle rennet is used for cheese making; whip body to increase blood flow( for arthritis or cold temperatures); green or yellow cloth dye; consume in tea or freeze dried capsules to alleviate allergies.