Saturday, September 15, 2007

Weekend Herb Blogging #100

Katerina from Daily Unadventures in Cooking is the host of this 100th edition of Weekend Herb Blogging.

This week I've got another unusual subject

snow cap mushroom


Is it some type of baseball mitt?

snow cap mushroom


A misshapen hand of some sort?

snow cap mushroom


Of course it is neither, it is a Japanese variety of fungus called snow cap mushroom.

The aren't all as interestingly shaped as these - they can in fact be almost saucer like in shape, such as this one

snow cap mushroom


What attracted me to these mushrooms besides their appearance was their description - they taste like lobster. You slice them finely and cook them in butter for about 30 seconds, just brown each side and that's it - you treat them in the same way you would abalone.

So armed with one I headed home to try it out for myself. As this was just a test I only sliced a quarter of the mushroom, browned it in the butter and a word of advice, 30 seconds means 30 seconds. As soon as one side is brown, flip it over and that's basically it.

Eagerly I tasted a slice and yes, indeed, while not exactly like lobster, it did have the consistency and a taste that was lobster-like. Needless to say those testing slices disappeared very quickly and a few other snow caps have passed through my hands since then.

For this week's recipe, the snow caps do cry out for a simple solution. You don't want to bury them with sauces or other strong flavours - what you want is to enhance their flavour and make them the star of your dish.

So I've come up with a rather indulgent brunch or breakfast idea - a generous serving of sautéed slices of snow cap atop a good, crusty whole-grain baguette with a soft poached egg to crown its glory.

egg, mushroom on baguette


Sautéed Snow Caps with Poached Egg

snow cap mushroom, finely sliced
butter
whole-grain petit pain, partially split in half
soft poached eggs>


I love soft poached eggs but I understand that some can't stand them and in some places it isn't safe to have runny yolks. However, I must say that the yolk works so well with the slices of mushroom - they become pseudo toast soldiers soaking up that eggy goodness.

Petit Pain, the small French bread rolls are an excellent size for this dish. Cut them lengthways at a slight angle stopping before you cut straight through the roll. Pry it open to create a nest in while you can pile the sautéed snow cap slices.

In cooking the mushrooms be generous with the butter as it will be left in the skillet but you do need a good quantity in which to sauté the slices.

Once the butter has melted and is sizzling add the slices in a single layer - when you see that they are starting to colour, flip them over to brown the other side and then remove them immediately. Don't be tempted to cook them for any longer.

Pile the slices into the bread and top with the just poached egg.

egg and mushroom


My favourite part is jabbing the egg and watching the yolk spill out...

egg


You could serve the mushrooms on scrambled eggs if preferred.

Before you ask, for those in Melbourne, if you hurry you can find these at Damian Pike's stall at Prahran Market.

Related Recipes

Sautéed Mushrooms with Wasabi
Slippery Jack Omelette
Roasted Swiss Brown Mushrooms with Chèvre and Lemon Thyme
Fettucine with Mixed Mushrooms
Mixed Mushroom and Goat Cheese Bruschetta

13 comments

  1. Oh yum. I've never seen this type of mushroom before. Love the photos. I can hardly believe it's been 100 weeks.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Guess what is the first thing on my shopping list this week - yup, snow cap mushroom. Thanks for this informative post. I will remember the 30secs part ;-)

    ReplyDelete
  3. What a lovely dish. I think you've found the perfect use for them. I'm also a big fan of poking the yolk. Just love the sight of it all running out.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Arghhh that egg yolk's driving me crazy~!!!

    ReplyDelete
  5. This is absolutely beautiful! I just need to get my hands on these amazing mushrooms! Thanks for sharing with us !

    ReplyDelete
  6. How I would love to try these mushrooms! They sound incredible!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Mm~ Poach egg and mushrooms! All my favourites! I love runny yolks too but I have the habit of eating the whites first and savouring the egg yolk whole (for all types of egg preparation). Hee~ I'm weird like that!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Thanks Kalyn - 100 down and 2 years soon to come!

    Thanks Nora - I hope you find them!

    Thanks Truffle - something so simple like a runny egg yolk can be just so decadent

    It's still tempting me Cindy!

    Thanks Anh - just head over to Damian he has a stash of them all wrapped in tissue.

    Thanks Paz!

    Thanks Julie - a mushroom specialist is probably your best bet.

    Thanks Evinrude - that's not weird at all, i always save the runniest bit for last.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Wow. Never has an egg looked so beautiful! What stunning photos of this deliciously decadent sounding breakfast dish. I've never heard of these mushrooms and am intrigued by the flavour description. Hope I can find some here in London.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Thanks Antonia - happy hunting on the mushroom front!

    ReplyDelete
  11. I appreciate the quality of the eggs. Fantastic post.

    ReplyDelete
  12. I've just found your blog while I was hunting for what a "snowcap mushroom" was.. They look simply divine :) My vegbox has them in next weeks delivery so I can't wait until I can try out the poached egg,mushrooms on toast..

    Antonia you can get them from most organic farmers here in the UK, or a veg box delivery scheme which is where mine is coming from.

    ReplyDelete

© Cook (almost) Anything at Least Once | All rights reserved.
BLOG TEMPLATE HANDCRAFTED BY pipdig