How to Roast a Mushroom Like a Chicken

This is a secret recipe from the dinner over which The Gourmand & The Peasant fell in love. There is a wonderful mushroom called the “Hen of the woods” or maitake.  The first step to winning your love is to find a great source of mushrooms.  All of our best mushrooms have come from the farmer’s market at Grand Army Plaza, Brooklyn. Most recently, we have been getting great mushrooms from the John D. Madura Farm. We were so happy to see a bountiful pile of Hen of the Woods last Saturday, the first of the season. They get their name from their shape – they look like a brown chicken with her feathers all fluffed up.

Obtain a large hen of the woods mushroom, preferably a half-pound or better.
Dice two scallions.
Chop some thyme.
Salt and pepper.
Good olive oil. 

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
Put the whole mushroom on a roasting tray lined with aluminum foil.
Sprinkle the mushroom with the scallion, thyme, salt and pepper.
Drizzle the mushroom with olive oil.
Put the mushroom in the hot oven and roast until the tips of the mushroom are dark brown and crispy.
The interior should be hot and moist, about 15 minutes.

Slice and enjoy as a appetizer or, serve with a grain or your choice and green salad.

 

Beef Bulgogi

I had my first experiences with Korean food at a friend’s house as a kid in Rochester, New York. Home cooked meals, served family-style in the Hauser house, had a strong influence on my love of food. Recently, when I was craving Bulgogi, instead of looking up a generic recipe, I phoned Mr. Hauser and he passed along the following:

For the Beef:

2 pounds of sirloin steak sliced very thin across the bias
4 scallions, sliced
¼ c sugar
5 cloves garlic, chopped
5 T soy sauce
2 T sesame oil
2 T sherry, vermouth, or similar
1/8 tsp ground black pepper
a dash of hot sauce (I used Sriracha)

Side Dish:

Enoki Mushrooms
1 clove garlic, chopped
olive oil
Fresh pea shoots
Rice vinegar

To serve:

Cooked rice (Choose your favorite. We used a wild blend.)
Whole bib lettuce leaves
Kimchi
Chili paste

Combine the marinade ingredients in a bowl. Cover tightly. Refrigerate for at least 24 hours. In this time the above ingredients transform into something much more wonderful than the individual parts.

After 24 hours, and when you are just about ready to eat, start cooking the rice. We use a rice cooker, which takes most of the guesswork and all of the burning out of the equation.

The beef can be grilled, broiled, baked, or sautéed. I cooked the beef in a blazing hot, cast iron skillet. Put the beef in the skillet and resist the temptation to move it around so that some carmelization can take place. Once the meat is cooked more than half way, about five minutes. Flip it and cook, unmoved for another minute or two. Let the beef remain juicy and not overcooked.

For the side dish, cook the mushrooms with a clove of chopped garlic and a splash of olive oil over high heat. When the mushrooms start to brown, add the pea shoots a bit of rice vinegar. Toss, and turn off the heat. The idea is that the some of the pea shoots wilt and the rest remain unaffected by the heat, keeping their crunch.

To serve an authentic Korean meal, put kimchi out on the table. Spicy fermented vegetables might take some getting used to if you have never tried it, but it is worth the time to get to know.  Also try to get some Korean chili paste or Gochujang.

The spread should be all of the above in individual serving dishes. Bolgogi, rice, a bowl of bib lettuce leaves, kimchi, Korean chili paste, and the side dish of enoki and pea shoots.

Make a wrap, using a lettuce leaf, a tablespoon or so of rice, a piece of bulgogi, kimchi and chili paste. You will get a bit messy but it is entirely worth it so dig in and enjoy.

Serve the mushrooms and pea shoots on the side.

Stay tuned for the a Korean pork barbeque, another big hit from the Hauser house that with the Mr. Hauser’s blessing, we will experiment with before long.