A Fungal Lion’s Quiet Roar
I bought a mushroom from the co-op to demonstrate to my daughter what “mushrooms” taste like but it turned out to be something entirely singular.
BY JAMES NORTON
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James Norton / Heavy Table
Thanks to a delightful little illustrated book about mushroom hunting entitled The Mushroom Fan Club (Elise Gravel, 2018, Drawn and Quarterly), my five-year-old daughter has been awakened to the weird, enchanting, and sometimes delicious world of edible fungi. This mushroom mania got to the point last week where she declared herself ready - no, excited - to attempt eating mushroom pasta in lieu of her regular noodles plus Rao’s.
Thus empowered, I hit the co-op with the intention of demonstrating to her the trademark chewy, nutty, earthy flavors and textures of mushrooms. And while I pointed her toward the usual suspects (crimini, button, portobello, etc.) she fixated on something else entirely: a little box filled with a single medium-sized Lion’s Mane mushroom. “So be it!” I thought. “This’ll probably be just about like any other mushroom out there, so why not?”
I got some spaghetti going on the stovetop and decided to prep my new fungal friend in a method that promised to be as winning as it was simple: poached briefly until tender in a thyme-seasoned cream and butter sauce, with a little garlic for a backbone of savory flavor.
The first sign that the Lion’s Mane is no garden variety white button came when I plucked it from its box: it was surprisingly soft, almost feathery in texture, and it offered almost no resistance whatsoever to my knife.
The resulting pasta dish featured mushrooms that were almost indescribably tender (not chewy!) and sweet (not nutty or earthy!). The bits of mushroom soaked up the cream and seasonings like delicate little sponges, popping with flavor and a yielding texture with every bite of pasta. Did she like the dish? Yes. Did she finish a mere 25% of it before requesting a hearty splash of Rao’s red sauce? Also yes. Do I still count it as a culinary victory? Yes again.
Copyleft by Lebrac via Wikipedia
LION’S MANE IN CREAM
2-3 Servings’ Worth of Pasta
2 Tbsp Butter
1 large clove of garlic, minced
1 Cup heavy cream
½ tsp Dried Thyme
1 Lion’s Mane Mushroom, about 4-6 oz., diced
Salt and Pepper to Taste
2 Tbsp dry white wine (optional)
Prepare your pasta to desired texture and set aside. (Ideally: get your pasta five minutes from done before starting to cook your sauce using prepped ingredients, and they should finish together.)
Melt butter in a medium temperature saute pan, then saute your minced garlic until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add your cream, dried thyme, and mushroom pieces, and bring to a simmer. Simmer until completely tender (about 2-3 minutes) and then season with salt and pepper; finish with some white wine if you wish. Introduce 2-3 servings of pasta to the saute pan, stir and heat through, then plate and serve.