Lemony Marinated Mushroom Mélange Recipe
A Hearty Vegetable-forward Appetizer

I’m a bit obsessed with dried mushrooms these days. I love the sponge-like fungi’s talent for absorbing flavorful broths and dressings. And I like their rubbery chewiness and heft that, unlike a lot of veggies, fills the hole in my veganish hunger.

Over the winter, I used dried shitake mushrooms to add heartiness and savor to Alfredo-type sauces, marinara, ramen bowls and more.

Now that the weather is warmer, I’m loving dried mushrooms mixed with fresh, the mélange soaked in a lemony vinaigrette.

For dressing, I use a blend of olive oil, lemon juice and lemon zest. I throw in a handful of chopped fresh oregano for aromatic, cedary notes.

My recipe mixes dried eryngii and shitake mushrooms with fresh bunapis. Feel free to swap the tiny bunapis for baby bellos or any other fresh mushrooms, sliced paper thin.

Delicious as a salad appetizer, Lemony Marinated Mushroom Mélange is also lovely scooped onto crispy garlic and olive oil-rubbed bruschetti.

This flavor-dense salad keeps for a full week and just gets better with age.

Print Recipe

Lemony Marinated Mushroom Mélange Recipe

2 ounces dried shitake mushrooms

2 ounces dried eryngii mushrooms

4 ounces fresh bunapi, enoki or other fresh mushrooms

2 tablespoons olive oil

Juice and zest of one lemon

1 tablespoon white vinegar (optional)

Clove of garlic, crushed

Salt and pepper

2-3 tablespoons fresh oregano, minced or 1 teaspoon dried oregano

1. An hour ahead of time, place dried mushrooms in a medium bowl and cover with two cups of boiling water. Weight with a small plate to submerge the mushrooms. Soak for an hour.


2. When mushrooms have soaked, pick out the shitakes one at a time, squeezing each tightly in your fist to remove excess water. Slice thinly and set aside. Squeeze remaining eryngii mushrooms and pat dry with a tea towel to remove excess water. Reserve and refrigerate the mushroom-infused water—being careful not to pour in the last quarter cup or so as it contains dirt and other sediment. Cover and chill or freeze the broth and use later to add flavor to soups and gravies.


3. Add the eryngii to the sliced shitake mushrooms and set aside as you prepare the fresh mushrooms.


4. Cut off the fibrous base of the bunapi mushrooms, pull apart to separate each mushroom. Or clean and thinly slice baby bello or other fresh mushrooms. Add the fresh mushrooms to the shitake and eryngii mushrooms and toss lightly.


5. In a saucepan, heat olive oil juice, vinegar, garlic, salt and pepper. Heat until mix just comes to a simmer. Remove from flame. Add lemon zest and oregano and stir.


6. Pour marinade over mushrooms and toss gently being careful not to break the delicate bunapi stems. Add additional salt and pepper to taste.


7. Spoon into a jar and let marinate in fridge for at least an hour and up to five days.


Serves 6

Servings

Servings