I taught myself how to make this dish after eating something similar at a deli in London. It riffs on the idea of poaching a variety of mushrooms and then cooking them in herbs and spices. You really honour all the flavours of the mushroom and elevate them with the second cooking process. It’s a dish that keeps on giving.
SERVES 8
Ingredients
- 500ml red-wine vinegar
- 5 bay leaves
- 3 garlic cloves, sliced
- ½ teaspoon whole pepperberries
- 100g enoki mushrooms
- 200g oyster mushrooms, sliced
- 200g shiitake mushrooms
- 200g king brown mushrooms, sliced
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 tablespoon native thyme
- 1 tablespoon chilli paste
- 100g samphire
- 100g karkalla
- Lettuce cups, to serve
Method
- In a large pot, combine 1 litre water, vinegar, bay leaves, half the garlic, and the pepperberries and boil for 30 minutes. Add the mushrooms and poach for 10 minutes, then drain and strain off the liquid. Set the mushrooms aside.
- In a large frying pan, heat the oil and fry the remaining garlic, the mushrooms, thyme, chilli paste, samphire, and karkalla for 5 minutes before adding salt to taste.
- Eat with lettuce cups.
