Hey, I’m a Fungi

from 2021_11_EtcMagazine_Volume20_Issue11

Recork

BY JIM MATHIS

Let’s start with a dad joke: A mushroom walks into a bar and the bartender says, “We don’t serve your kind.” The mushroom replies “Why not? I’m a fungi!”

I’ve always liked mushrooms, but when I was young, it seemed like mushrooms came in one variety; the ubiquitous white button was all you could find at the grocery store. Those humble fungi did the heavy lifting for beef stroganoff, chicken marsala, pizza and any other recipe that called for mushrooms. They were later joined by the portabella, and the occasional cremini. If you felt adventurous, you could find dried wood ears in the Oriental food shop, and maybe some dried porcinis in the Italian section. Every once in a great while, someone would tip you off to some fresh morels, but those days were few.

Thankfully we’ve got many more choices for our favorite fungus. We’ve even got a local grower here in the Sioux Empire who supplies local restaurants and stores with a great selection of king

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trumpet, shitakes, beautiful blue oysters, maitake, chestnuts and lion’s mane. Look for Dakota Mushrooms and Microgreens at the Falls Park Farmers Market, the Food Co-op, Pomegranate Market, and most Hy-Vees. And you can even order online. Dakota Mushrooms has become my go-to source for fungi. And I’m not alone, I was talking with Riccardo at R Wine Bar the other day and he mentioned “Dan the Mushroom Man.” In addition to the fresh varieties, he’s added dried mushrooms and mushroom powders to Comfy Kickee for the Whole Family!

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his stock. He also sells kits so you can grow your own at home.

Last night we enjoyed a couple of dry-aged ribeyes with several varieties of mushrooms sautéed in butter. The king trumpets were firm and meaty, the shitakes were earthy and full of umami, and the blue and pink oyster mushrooms were delicate, tender, and slightly sweet. They all enhanced the flavor of the steak and paired well with cabernet sauvignon.

As I’ve started to try different types of mushrooms, I find myself looking for chances to try new recipes or new twists on old favorites. The beef Wellington I used to make with white button mushrooms is made richer with oyster mushrooms. Veal or chicken marsala has a deeper flavor when made with cremini. And that old stand-by green bean casserole at thanksgiving? Now I make my own cream of mushroom soup with at least 2 or 3 types of ‘shrooms. It’s so much better than the can of Campbell’s!

If you can’t find the fresh mushrooms you’re looking for, don’t be afraid to try dried mushrooms. They are easily reconstituted in simmering water, and once they’ve plumped back up, the water has become transformed into mushroom stock! If you’re making mushroom risotto, soup, or gravy, that stock can add a flavorful punch. Some varieties that have short growing seasons or are hard to cultivate, like the prized morel mushrooms, are easier to find dried than fresh. My sister (who loves mushrooms even more than I do) buys dried morels on the internet in quart-sized containers.

Since I can get the most of the mushrooms I’m looking for close to home and without foraging through the forest, I never have to worry about whether one is edible, magical or poisonous. As they say there are old mushroom hunters, and bold mushroom hunters, but never old and bold mushroom hunters. Mistake a funeral bell mushroom for a harmless shitake and you’ll never grow old. While I love mushrooms of all kinds, I’ll leave the foraging to the experts. But if you want to search for your own, at least take a copy of the Audubon Society Field Guide to Mushrooms of North America along so you can make sure that innocent looking fungus isn’t deadly.

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