Mushroom Ceviche

An appetizer for peak summer when the woods are hot and muggy and mushroom variety season is peaking. Cold, tart, spicy and refreshing, mushroom ceviche is infinitely variable with whatever mushrooms you have on hand. So far I've used it on big blends of summer mushrooms as well as a version focused on Caesars Amanita and all of them have disappeared quickly.

This is one of my favorite appetizers I've adapted from my friend Chef Chad Hyatt's book The Mushroom Hunter's Kitchen, which was recently re-released in an expanded version.

We met up for a hunt in late August when he was visiting Minnesota and picked a big batch of Boletinellus, which he was set on making into ceviche for an event. I went home and made a version with a mix of mushrooms I had in the fridge, and then two more batches with different mushrooms after that-it's that good.

Chef's Tips

You have an important choice to make in preparing the mushrooms: steaming or boiling. Chad's original recipe is great, and calls for the mushrooms to be boiled. I found that when I boil brightly colored mushrooms there's a loss of pigment and colors can get muted.

A workaround I came up with is to steam the mushrooms so there's not as much contact with water which preserves the color.

The catch is that there's less residual liquid, so you'll need to add a splash of mushroom stock or vegetable broth to make sure it's nice and juicy, with enough leche de tigre in the bowl to slurp up afterward.

Another thing to keep in mind is your tolerance for mucilaginous foods. The versions I've made with boiled mushrooms were noticeably mucilaginous, where the steamed mushrooms kept a more neutral viscosity. Amanitas and boletes seem particularly prone to it. Honey mushrooms will be slimy either way.

To ensure there's enough liquid in the dish, I made a batch of mushroom broth from trimmings to make up the difference.

Another option here is adding a non-mushroom ingredient for color and texture. Chad adds cooked, diced sweet potato. I fell in love with hearts of palm after eating them in mushroom ceviche by Chef Gustavo Romero of Nixta. You might add one or the other, or just use mushrooms.

While you can technically use any mushroom you want, species with a firm texture will be the best crowd-pleasers. Young chanterelle buttons, firm polypores like chicken or hen of the woods, pheasant back edges, and just about any cultivated mushroom will give you good results.

Finally, if anyone you would serve this to hasn't eaten every wild mushroom in the ceviche they may want to pass, as introducing new species to a diet is best done one at a time to ensure the eater isn't sensitive to them. This is generally a non-issue if you use cultivated mushrooms.

How to Make Mushroom Ceviche

Cut the mushrooms into pieces that can be scooped up on a tortilla chip. You're looking for ¼ inch slices or ½ inch dice. If you're using a blend of mushrooms, cut each one in a slightly different shape to preserve their identity.

Next, steam or boil the mushrooms until they're completely cooked. If you're boiling they can be cooked for 5 minutes. If steaming, I recommend 10 minutes to ensure they're fully cooked.

Toss the mushrooms with salt and cool while you prepare some hot chilis, herbs, red onion and lime juice. Cilantro is traditional, but I've made it so far with culantro, rau ram, and Hmong cilantro and all were very good.

Mix the cooled mushrooms with the remaining ingredients, double check the seasoning for salt, lime, herbs and spiciness and adjust until it tastes good to you. Serve the ceviche with tortilla chips alone as an appetizer or as part of a larger meal.

Related Posts

• Marinated Honey Mushrooms
• Pickled Mushrooms
• Mushroom Tacos

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

5 from 3 votes

Mushroom Ceviche

Prep Time15 minutes mins

Cook Time10 minutes mins

Total Time25 minutes mins

Course: Appetizer, Side Dish, Snack

Cuisine: Mexican

Servings: 8 servings

Calories: 162kcal

Author: Alan Bergo

Cost: 5

Equipment

• 1 1 gallon pot with lid for steaming or boiling
• 1 Steamer basket
• 1 2 quart mixing bowl

Ingredients

• 8 oz wild mushrooms
• 1 teaspoon Morton kosher salt or to taste
• 3 oz ⅓ cup fresh squeezed lime juice (roughly 4 large limes)
• ½ a habanero pepper finely chopped, or your favorite fresh hot pepper, to taste
• ½ oz ½ cup roughly chopped cilantro, culantro, or Vietnamese coriander
• 2 oz red onion any tough outer layers removed and sliced into paper thin, 1 inch slices
• 2 oz hearts of palm sliced into ½ inch coins (optional but really good)
• ¼ cup strong homemade mushroom broth chicken stock, or water in a pinch (see note)
• Tortilla chips, for serving Ideally a firm, non-brittle chip like Donkey Chips

Instructions

Prepare the Mushrooms

• Trim the mushrooms of stems and any woody parts, then cut into ¼ inch slices or pieces that will fit on a tortilla chip.
• If you’re using wild mushrooms you may have a good amount of trim. Save the trim, put it into a small 2 quart saucepot with a bay leaf, ½ a chopped medium onion and a crushed clove of garlic.
• Add water to the pot until the mushrooms are barely covered, bring to a simmer, turn the heat to low, cover and cook on low heat for 1 hour. Cool, strain the liquid and reserve. To enhance the shelf life, add a good pinch of salt to taste. This is optional.
• If you would prefer to boil the mushrooms, see the recipe notes.

Steaming the Mushrooms

• Put the mushrooms in a large pot, like a pasta pot fitted with a steamer basket and a few inches of water. Bring the pot to a boil, turn the heat to medium and steam for ten minutes.
• Remove the mushrooms to a bowl, toss with the salt and cool while you prepare the rest of the ingredients. From here the mushrooms can be prepared ahead of time up to 2-3 days if you like.

Assemble the Ceviche

• Add the remaining ingredients and mix well, double check the seasoning for lime, heat and cilantro and serve with tortilla chips.

Video

Notes

Boiling the Mushrooms

The mushrooms can also be boiled and this is what’s called for in the original recipe. To do that, combine 1 quart of water and 1 tablespoon salt for each 8 oz of mushrooms. Bring the water to a boil, add the mushrooms, cover, bring to a boil for 5 minutes, then drain. 

Know that this can cause many mushrooms, especially wild ones to become slippery and mucilaginous, as well as leaching pigment from brightly colored mushrooms like chicken of the woods. The catch is that you won’t have as much liquid left over if the mushrooms are steamed, which is why I adjust the steamed version with a splash of mushroom or chicken stock, or water in a pinch.

Nutrition

Calories: 162kcal | Carbohydrates: 35g | Protein: 10g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 0.2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.5g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.1g | Sodium: 2355mg | Potassium: 2002mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 18g | Vitamin A: 1039IU | Vitamin C: 43mg | Calcium: 53mg | Iron: 3mg