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Award-winning chef, author and forager Alan Bergo. Food is all around you.

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Matsutake with Hakurei Turnips

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Matsutake Mushrooms with Hakurei TurnipsAs much as I can, I try to plant the seed of enjoying the entire plant when you cook with a part of it.

A lot of times, this means cooking with stems, roots, and leaves in a dish, but depending on the season and what you’re cooking it could also be various bulbs, shoots, buds and other parts of different plants. Physical representation of every part of a plant in a single dish isn’t as important as understanding the philosophy.

After bringing home a bunch of matsutake this year, I tinkered around with a few different ways of preparing them very simply, since I know from experience that even though they have a strong flavor, just like a truffle it will be overwhelmed if too many other things are paired with them, and you won’t be able to taste them at all.

Mistreating one of the most expensive and rare culinary ingredients known to man is not a good thing, especially if you’re going out of the way to hunt them yourself. Less is more with matsutake, it’s a great time to contemplate minimalist cooking styles: another reason why Japanese influence is important to consider.

Minnesota matsutake mushrooms

A nice little haul. Matsutake are most prized before the veil breaks.

This recipe was a nod to the fact that our Midwestern matsies are more closely related to the coveted Japanese species than the Pacific Northwest variety.

Hakurei turnips, also known as Japanese or Tokyo turnips, are a great vegetable that more and more farmers are growing. In the scheme of turnips, they are by far the most tame compared to the typical scarlet, gold, and purple top varieties of turnips you’ll typically see at coops. Hakurei nips are so tame that they’re great raw, and most of the time, don’t even require peeling as their skin is soft and tender.

hakurei turnips

Little Japanese turnips, beloved by chef’s the world round for their petite shape and beatiful cross section when shaved paper thin with a bit of the green stem attached on the top on a mandoline. You could garnish the dish with a few shaved slices, if you like.

A simple plate of turnips and mushrooms never tasted so good.

If you look closely, you’ll probably see the only drawback of our Minnesota matsutake compared to the Pacific Northwest Variety: bug damage. I’ve eaten both, and I prefer the flavor of the Matsutake I pick in Minnesota and Wisconsin, (they seem to keep their aroma even when large or after the veil has broken) but the caveat is that they are beloved by bugs.

They are so beloved by bugs that I will literally dig up mushrooms an inch underneath the ground and needle-duff and have to toss them. It sucks. In the interest of not getting skunked on the 8 hour round trip pilgrimage I have to make to get most of them, at the time pictured I had to pick out the good ones and make due.

Matsutake Mushrooms with Hakurei Turnips

 

Minnesota Matsutake mushrooms with Hakurei turnips
Print Recipe
5 from 1 vote

Matsutake Mushrooms with Hakurei Turnips

Sauteed matsutake mushrooms with Japanese turnips and their greens
Prep Time10 mins
Cook Time3 mins
Course: Appetizer, Side Dish
Cuisine: Japanese
Keyword: Hakurei turnip, Matsutake
Servings: 2

Equipment

  • Saute Pan

Ingredients

  • 4 hakurei turnips with greens
  • 3 ounces fresh matsutake mushrooms cleaned and trimmed, rinsed and dried if dirty
  • 2 tablespoons lard or high-heat, flavorless oil
  • Kosher salt to taste

Instructions

  • Remove the greens from the turnips leaving 1/4 inch of the green stem attached. Cut the top 1-2 inches of greens off, then slice the stems into 1/2 inch pieces. Cut the turnips in half if they're small or in 1/4s if they're large. Slice the matsutake into 1/2 inch slices.
  • Heat the lard or oil in a pan, then add the turnips and matsutake and cook on medium high heat until caramelized and browned. When the mushrooms and turnips are tender, add the stems and leaves to wilt, season the mixture with salt to taste, then serve immediately.

More

Guide to Matsutake (Pine Mushrooms)

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Bonnie C.

    September 29, 2018 at 8:18 am

    If Matsutake mushrooms aren’t available, what other varieties would you recommend? Our local Wegmans supermarket carries quite a wide selection of different mushrooms, but they change often so one can’t depend on what one will find at any given time. Anything else that comes close to the flavor of Matsutake?

    Thanks!

    Reply
    • CityMouseCountryMouse

      February 20, 2021 at 6:00 am

      5 stars
      I know this is 2 years late but it might help someone else. I have read the best substitute is Portobello mushrooms, You can also substitute with Shiitake Mushrooms. I was hoping to be able to use some King Oyster mushrooms I have on hand but the recipe is calling for a more flavorful mushroom than the mild King Oysters.

      Reply
      • Alan Bergo

        February 20, 2021 at 7:32 am

        There is no substitute for matsutake mushrooms, but you could substitute shiitake, yes.

        Reply

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I liked the staff meal I made for Mondays shoot so I liked the staff meal I made for Mondays shoot so much we filmed it instead of the original dish I’d planned. 

Cooked natural wild rice (not the black shiny stuff) is great hot, cold, sweet or savory. It’s a perfect, filling lunch for a long day of berry picking. 

I make them with whatever I have on hand. Mushrooms will fade into the background a little here, so I use a bunch of them, along with lots of herbs and hickory nut oil + dill flowers. 

I’m eating the leftovers today back up in the barrens (hopefully) getting some more bluebs for another shoot this week w @wild.fed 

#wilwilwice #wildrice #chanterelles #campfood #castironcooking
Baby’s first homegrown mushrooms! Backyard wine Baby’s first homegrown mushrooms! Backyard wine caps on hardwood sawdust from my lumberjack buddy.

Next up blewits. Spawn from @northsporemushrooms

#winecaps #strophariaaeruginosa #allthemushroomtags
It’s wild cherry season. I’ll be picking from It’s wild cherry season. I’ll be picking from my favorite spot tomorrow a.m. and have room for a couple helpers. It’s at an event on a farm just south of St. Cloud. 

If you’re interested send me a message and I’ll raffle off the spots. Plenty of cherries to go around. I’ll be leading a short plant walk around the farm too. 

#chokecherries #foraging #prunusvirginiana #summervibes
Special thanks to the beach in Ashland for hooking Special thanks to the beach in Ashland for hooking it up with on-site garnishes. Beach pea flowers taste strong and leguminous, similar to vetch, or like a rich tasting pea shoot. 

#lathyrusjaponicus #beachpeas #peaflower #foraging #northshore #bts
Great, long day of filming in near the south shore Great, long day of filming in near the south shore of Lake Superior yesterday. 

Blueberries were sparse, and some kind of blight seems to be affecting the serviceberries. Chanterelles weren’t as good as 2020, but they were there. 

Quick dip in the Lake Superior after we broke set was a bonus. 

W/ @barebonesliving  @misterberndt @jesseroesler

#barebonesliving #foraging #lakesuperiorrocks #serviceberries #chanterelles #bts
Green ramp seed make a great lactoferment. Just pu Green ramp seed make a great lactoferment. Just put the green seeds in brine in a jar, leave for 2 weeks. 

After they’re sour they can be water bath processed, although I’ve stored them at room temp without an issue too. 

Finished product is great minced or puréed into places where you’d like garlic, capers, or both. 

Makes a great tzatziki with a little crumbled, dried bee balm. 

#tzatziki #ramps #rampseeds #foraging #fermentation
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