Golden brown slices of mushroom scented with crisp leaves of rosemary. This Berkeley's polypore recipe was inspired by how I served French fries at the first restaurant where I was the chef. They're addictive, crunchy salty bites that are easy to make. Just about any mushroom that you can slice paper-thin can be used here, but it's particularly good with firm Polypores like pheasant backs or Berkeleys.
If you've read my post on cooking Berkeley's polypore (Bondarzawia berkeleyi) you'll know that the most important thing with these mushrooms is getting them at a young stage when the caps have just begun to branch out. If the mushrooms are too mature they'll be too tough to eat.
These mushrooms, as well as black staining polypores will always have a slight chew, but it's a good chew. That said, both of those mushrooms, as well as similar, firm Polypores like pheasant backs can be thinly sliced and cooked slowly until crisp.
The image below shows the mushrooms at a good stage for eating. Generally I've been able to get 2 inches of tender mushroom from the edge of caps that have just branched out.
Slow cooking transforms the texture of firm mushrooms into a crystalline, crunchy mushroom appetizer, garnish, and generally addictive crunchy-salty-thing. If I could figure out how to mass produce bags of these crispy, rosemary scented mushroom chips I'd be rich.
Chef's Tips & Notes
- Instead of cooking the mushrooms until crisp, you can simply add the rosemary to them when they hit the pan and cook until light brown as pictured below, which will taste more like tender sautéed mushrooms-also delicious!
- Instead of just one herb, you could add a knife tip of finely minced garlic, rosemary or sage, juniper and hot red pepper flakes.
- Spoon the crispy mushrooms on a piece of baked or grilled fish garnished with a fresh green salad for a light summer meal.
- The scent of rosemary and mushrooms together will make the kitchen smell awesome and may attract other foragers.
How to Make It
This couldn't be easier. Just imagine sauteing mushrooms like usual, but at a very slow pace. Instead of quickly cooking mushrooms, you cook them slowly and gently, evaporating water and concentrating their flavor.
First, thinly slice the mushrooms and pick the leaves from a sprig of rosemary. 10 leaves or so is fine, or a few grams. You can also use other herbs like thyme, sage or savory.
Related Posts
Crispy Berkeley's Polypore with Fried Rosemary
Equipment
- 1 10 inch nonstick saute pan or cast iron skillet
- 1 wooden spoon
- 1 Paper towel
Ingredients
- 3 oz Berkeley's polypore tender edges
- 1 pinch Kosher salt to taste
- Fresh ground black pepper to taste
- 1 sprig Fresh rosemary 8-10 leaves
- 5 teaspoons Cooking oil such as grapeseed or light olive oil
Instructions
- Using a very sharp paring knife, slice the mushrooms into slices as long and thin as you can.
- Heat the oil in the skillet over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms and cook until wilted and their water's evaporated, about 2-3 minutes. Your goal is to cook the mushrooms gently and slowly until they turn brown and crisp.
- Add the rosemary leaves to the pan. Turn the heat to medium, stir, season with a pinch of salt, and continue cooking for another 2-3 minutes. Please refer to the video here.
- By this time the mushrooms should start to brown around the edges. Monitor the heat of the pan closely at this point, turning it to low if needed to avoid burning them.
- Once the mushrooms are light golden and the edges begin to curl, turn the heat off and allow them to continue cooking for a minute with the residual heat, stirring them slowly with a wooden spoon to cool.
- The mushrooms should be mostly an even, golden brown, and should sound crisp as they move in the pan.
- Transfer the mushrooms to a tray with a paper towel, sprinkle with salt and eat hot or at room temperature. Eat the crisp basil leaves mingled with the mushrooms.
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