Recipes

Vegan Creamy Lion’s Mane Rigatoni Cashew cream 1/2 cup raw cashews soaked in 1 cup hot water for 30 minutes Drain the cashews and place in a high-speed blender with 3/4 cup cold water.  Blend until smooth. 500 g lion’s mane torn into chunks A good glug of vegetable oil for frying 1 onion, finely diced 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped 1/2 cup white wine 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast 1 can green peppercorns, drained Prepared cashew cream 1 cup packed baby spinach Parsley for serving 400 g pasta of choice, cooked to al dente Heat the oil in a frying pan to medium hot and fry the lion’s mane chunks until they are starting to crisp. Remove the chunks from the oil and reserve. Add the onion to the oil and cook on medium heat till transparent. Do not brown. Add the garlic and cook for a further couple of minutes. Deglaze with the white wine, reducing the wine by about half. Add the cashew cream, the nutritional yeast and the peppercorns. Season with salt and pepper to taste and add the lion’s mane. Allow to cook on medium low for 15 or so minutes or until the sauce is nicely thickened. Just before serving, add the fresh baby spinach and cooked pasta and stir through. Serve sprinkled with torn parsley.

Lion’s Mane Burgers   500 g lion’s mane, shredded 2 tablespoons water Burger mix 1/4 cup finely chopped spring onions 1/4 cup finely chopped red capsicum 3/4 cup Panko breadcrumbs 2 tablespoons chopped coriander 2 tablespoons chopped parsley 1 teaspoon paprika 1 teaspoon salt 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce 1/4 cup mayonnaise (use full-fat mayo) Ground pepper Cayenne pepper (optional) 2 eggs Extra Panko breadcrumbs for frying Place the shredded lion’s mane and water into a saucepan and cook on medium heat with a lid on until the lion’s mane has shed most of its moisture (approximately 5 minutes). Cool the lion’s mane so that you can squeeze the remaining moisture out. Place in a mixing bowl.Add the remaining ingredients to the bowl and mix together well. Place the mix in the fridge for at least 30 minutes to firm. Form the mixture into generous patties and coat with the remaining breadcrumbs. Heat a good glug of vegetable oil in a frying pan to medium and add the patties. Cook completely on one side before trying to turn the patties over. They will be delicate! Serve on burger buns with crispy lettuce, grated carrot and chipotle mayonnaise.

Lion’s Mane Broquettes 500 g fresh lion’s mane, torn into approximately 6 cm chunks (2 inches) 4 Lebanese eggplant, cut into 4 cm lengths A good glug of vegetable oil for frying 50 g butter, also for frying (use alternative for vegan version) 2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped 20 g parsley, chopped 2 tablespoons soy sauce Salt and pepper Thread the lion’s mane chunks and eggplant onto skewers, alternating. Season with salt and pepper. In a large frying pan, heat the oil and butter to a medium high heat. Add the parsley and fry for a couple of minutes, then add the garlic and prepared skewers, frying on one side till they begin to brown and crisp before turning to fry on the other. When the lion’s mane is crispy, add the soy sauce and give the skewers a final turn so that the soy sauce garlic-butter mixture absorbs into the lion’s mane. Season with salt and pepper and serve.

Nameko Pholiota nameko is a slow growing delicious winter variety. It grows in clusters to about 5cm long with a wavy cap when fully developed. It is a popular Japanese mushroom having an earthy pork/chicken flavour with a hint of cashews and nutmeg. Nina developed this recipe for Floriade 2017 – Tofu with Nameko Sauce 250g firm tofu 1 small leek, thinly sliced into 4 cm long strips 3 Thai basil leaves 250g nameko mushrooms 2 fresh shiitake mushrooms 100 ml chicken/vegetable stock 3 tbsp soy sauce 2 tbsp sake or mirin 1 tbsp cornflour 1 tbsp water 1 tbsp plain flour 1 tbsp vegetable oil Wrap the tofu in paper towel, place on a tilted cutting board with a heavy dish on the tofu for 1 hour. Coat the tofu with plain flour before frying. Heat oil in a frying pan. Brown both sides of the tofu and the leek together. In a saucepan boil stock and thinly sliced shiitake mushrooms for 8 minutes. Add the sauces and nameko mushrooms, cook for 2 minutes. Add the cornflour dissolved in water to thicken the sauce. Serve the fried tofu and leek onto a plate and pour over the mushroom sauce. Scatter Thai basil leaves on top. Pholiota nameko

Chestnut Mushrooms Chestnut mushrooms or pioppini were cultivated by the Ancient Greeks and are popular across Asia. The mushroom has a brown cap, a long creamy stalk, and possesses a firm texture with a strong mushroom flavour. When sautéed with some chopped parsley or lemon thyme and a squeeze of lemon juice they are a delightful side dish. They are a fine addition to omelettes, stir-fries, risottos, pasta dishes and soups.  Agrocybe aegerita

Golden Enoki Golden enoki is a low maintenance mushroom to grow as it requires little attention. Our kits grow mulititudes of delicate little golden mushrooms that are sweet and crispy when eaten raw or sweet and nutty when cooked. Golden enoki prefers cooler weather to grow in and is a tree fungi from Asia. Here is one of Nina’s recipes for Golden enoki Prosciutto Wrapped Enoki Recipe 2 bunches enoki 1 tbsp olive oil 2 spring onions, finely chopped ¼ cup tarragon, finely chopped Cracked pepper 200g prosciutto Add olive oil to a fry pan. Heat on medium-high, add spring onion and tarragon, and cook for 3 mins. Remove from fry pan. Add enoki to fry pan and cook for 3 mins. Take off the heat and cool for 10 mins. Wrap one slice of prosciutto around 4-5 mushrooms, and wrap tightly. Place onto a baking tray lined with greaseproof paper. Bake at 180oC for 10 min to allow prosciutto to crisp up. Garnish with spring onion and tarragon mixture and fresh cracked pepper. Flammulina velutipe

Magnificent Pearl Oyster Pleurotus ostreaus or Magnificent pearl is an oyster mushroom that can be grown all year round. It produces large mushrooms quickly with a blue grey colour. Magnificent pearl has a delicate flavour and velvety texture. It is a delicious and nutritious mushroom. Shroomy Bruschetta Recipe ¼ cup + 2 tbsp olive oil 1 onion, thinly sliced 1 red capsicum, sliced 150g magnificent pearl oyster mushrooms, sliced ¼ cup chopped fresh basil Baguette, sliced (1/4 inch thick) 2 tbsp balsamic glaze ​​ Preheat oven to 180oC. In a large fry pan, heat ¼ cup olive oil over medium heat with onions. Sauté until transparent. Add capsicum, lower heat, and cover for 5 minutes. Add oyster mushrooms and adjust to medium/high heat. Sauté for 5 more minutes. Brush baguette slices with the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil and bake in oven for 5 minutes. Top each baguette slice with the mushroom mixture and garnish with fresh basil and balsamic glaze. Season to taste. Pleurotus ostreatus

King Brown Oyster King brown oyster mushroom caps and stems are highly prized for their strong, rich, meaty flavour & texture. Also known as Eryngii the King Trumpet it is indigenous across the Asian continent. A slow growing mushroom preferring cooler climes and can be grown out very large with fully developed caps. Usually King Brown mushrooms are harvested with small underdeveloped caps but you can experience this mushroom in a different way by growing the cap to a large size. Its flavour and texture are continuously superb harvested small/young or large/mature. Another recipe from Nina, which we made for Floriade – so yummy… Vegan Bacon Recipe Olive oil 1 tsp brown sugar  ½ tsp salt  ½  tsp smoked paprika  1 teaspoon black pepper  3 King Oyster mushrooms, sliced into bacon strip-sized slices. Preheat oven to 160oC and lightly grease a baking sheet with olive oil. Combine brown sugar, salt, smoked paprika, and black pepper in a small bowl. Place the sliced mushrooms in a large mixing bowl and drizzle with 2 tbsp olive oil, tossing well to combine. Add the brown sugar mixture to the oiled mushrooms and gently toss until each mushroom slice is well coated. Arrange the mushrooms on the oiled baking sheet with space between each one. Bake for 20 minutes, until the mushrooms turn dark brown. Flip the mushrooms over using a spatula. Bake for another 15 minutes, until very brown. Serve immediately. Unused vegan bacon will keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week.