ETL: Mushroom Heaven

These are my favourite mushroom dishes. You cannot go wrong here.  Any type of mushroom would work. I've cooked these dishes with baby Bella, with white mushrooms, cremini, etc. For the recipes featured in this posting I used chanterelle and oyster mushrooms.

  

Chanterelle (girolle): Vase-shaped; ranging in color from bright yellow to orange; nutty and delicate flavor and texture; expensive when fresh; also available dried and canned. Add late in the cooking process to avoid toughening. Use in salads, sauces and risottos.

 

Oyster: Fluted cap resembles a fan; ranging in color from a soft beige brown to gray; can be eaten raw in salads but more often this mushroom is cooked to bring out its delicate flavor and velvety texture. Some say this mushroom has a faint oyster-like or seafood flavor, to match its likeness in shape to oysters. 

Hash Brown Potatoes and Mushrooms 

 You will need 3 potatoes, cut into small cubes, 2-3 shallots, 2-3 garlic cloves and 1/2 lb chanterelle mushrooms.

Carefully wash the mushrooms, especially if you use chanterelle like me. They should be rinsed in a large bowl, and drained in a colander. Repeat the rinsing until the water is clear. Note that they should not sit in water for more than a few minutes. Cut the onions, garlic and the potatoes

Brown the potatoes in 1 tbsp of olive oil. Then add the onions, the garlic and the mushrooms at the end. 

 

 Season with salt and pepper. 

Sprinkle with fresh parsley and serve.

Oyster Mushrooms with Chick Peas and Leeks 

You need 3-4 leeks, 2-3 cloves of garlic, 1lb oyster mushrooms and 2 cups of cooked chick peas.

 Saute the leeks and the garlic i 1 tbsp olive oil. Add the mushrooms, and cook for 10 minutes. At the end add the cooked chick peas. Season with salt, pepper and cumin. I add 2 tbsp of balsamic vinegar when I cook white mushrooms or cremini. I prefer the oyster mushrooms plain, the vinegar overpower their delicate taste.

  

Fettuccini with Pesto, Mushrooms and Peas

I have always been a fan of tomato based pasta sauces, but this time I decided to experiment a bit and to make a pesto sauce, and it turned out pretty good. The whole dish took less than 30 min with multitasking so it is perfect for making a quick dinner.

PESTO SAUSE:
In a food processor, combine and homogenize the following:

• 1-2 cups loose basil leaves + parseley leaves
• 1/2 cup walnuts (I did not have any pine nuts but Bitman says that walnuts are OK)
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• some salt

THE REST OF INGREDIENTS:
1 lb mushrooms, sliced
1 onion, sliced
1 cup frozen peas
2 (9 oz each) packs of fresh pasta

PROCESS:
In a large pan, add some olive oil and sautee the mushrooms on high heat until most of water has evaporated. Add the peas and onion, season with salt, black pepper and cayenne pepper and continue cooking until soft.

In the mean time, heat a pot of water and once boiling, add the fresh pasta. Let boil for 3-5 min or until cooked.

Once the pasta is ready, drain and mix with some of the pesto sauce and with the mushrooms.
Sprinkle some shredded pecorino romano cheese and enjoy!

Weeknight Pasta with Winter Greens and Mushrooms

Props to Marulka for giving me the recipe and guiding me through the execution :)!

This pasta recipe is very easy to cook and extremely versatile. Marulka and I cooked it with different kind of veggies and the result was always delightful. You can substitute the vegetables with whatever you have available at the moment, and add sausage, sea food, or chicken.
 Ingredients:

• Veggies - I used chard, kale, and mushrooms.
• Pasta - Rigatoni, Penne, or Fettuccine.
• 2 strips bacon, cut into small pieces
• 2 garlic cloves and 1 shallot, finely chopped
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• Cheese - Le Gruyere and Parmesan 
• Black pepper and salt to taste

STEP 1: First wash the greens and mushrooms. Roughly chop the greens and quarter the mushrooms.

STEP 2: Grind a cup of each Gruyere and Parmesan cheeses.

STEP 3: In a skillet cook the bacon in the olive oil. Save some of the fats for the mushrooms. Then saute the onions and the garlic.

STEP 4: Start to boil the pasta, following the instructions on the package.
STEP 5:Saute the greens.

 STEP 6: Use halve of the bacon fat to brown the mushrooms in a large pan.

STEP 7: Add the sauteed greens to the pan with the mushrooms. Add the pasta and stir. Add the cheese and freshly ground black pepper.

STEP 8: Serve the pasta with sprinkled Parmesan on top, pour a glass of wine and ENJOY!