The morel hunt continues... and I continue to fail at finding any! Though I'm afraid I will miss my window to find any this year before the hot spots are picked clean by more experienced foragers, it has been a fun season nonetheless.
After hours scouring the woods last Sunday and leaving with an empty basket, I was greeted by these fresh oyster mushrooms growing right in my front yard! Cooked with lemon, garlic, and butter, they made for an exceptionally tasty consolation prize :) I guess my blinders were still on when I first left my house that morning; I walked right past them on my way out the door!
They aren't morels, but they were they best oysters I've ever had. They don't get much more fresh than this! I'll consider this a lesson from the universe to not forget to look in the places I least expect.
Oyster mushroom (Pleurotus ostreatus):
Personally, I enjoy oysters in a creamy sauce over pasta. Below is a basic recipe you can follow to make a creamy mushroom sauce, though of course you are welcome to spice things up if you are more comfortable around the kitchen than myself. Enjoy!
Best of luck out foraging everyone!
Creamy Mushroom Pasta
Ingredients:
4 Tsp olive oil
2 Tsp butter
1 lb mushrooms (oysters in this case)
1 lb pasta (I prefer shells or penne since they seem to hold the sauce better than thin pastas like spaghetti)
2 shallots OR 1 medium sized onion
2-4 cloves of garlic
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 lemon (juice and zest)
Salt & pepper to taste
Preparation:
Slice or tear mushroom into bite-sized pieces, mince garlic, and dice onion.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and add pasta. Cook until al dente (about 2 minutes less than is recommended on packaging if using packaged pasta). Drain pasta and set aside. Keep around 1 cup of pasta water to add to your sauce later.
In a large frying pan, heat olive oil on high and add mushrooms. Cook the mushrooms until the tender and slightly browned on all sides. Keeping the mushrooms in the pan, reduce heat to medium and push them towards the sides of the frying pan to make a well for your garlic and onion/shallots.
Add garlic and onion/shallots and cook until translucent and soft. Add pasta water, butter, and heavy cream along with salt and pepper to taste. Stir often for the next 3-5 minutes to allow the sauce to thicken before then adding the al dente pasta. Cook for an additional 2 minutes, constantly tossing pasta in with sauce to coat it.
Turn the heat off and add juice and zest of one lemon. Toss to combine mixture.
All done! Enjoy your meal!
(Sorry, but no pictures of the meal this time around; I was too hungry after my walk to think to stop and take a picture! Oops!)
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