Lion's Mane, Carrots & Celtuce
Sauteed lion’s mane mushrooms (or pom pom mushrooms), broccoli rabe pesto, roasted carrots & spring onions, celtuce (or celery lettuce), goat cheese, sherry vinaigrette
Recipe
Ingredients: 1 ball of dough flour for dusting
semolina flour for pizza stone olive oil salt & pepper 1 log of goat cheese, crumbled 2 lion’s mane mushrooms, torn into chunks 2 tablespoons butter 4 carrots, 3 cut into wedges lengthwise & 1 shaved on a mandoline ½ bunch spring onions (the kind with the large bulbs), stems discarded & bulbs quartered 1 stalk celtuce, peeled & sliced thinly
For the pesto: ½ bunch broccoli rabe, thick stems removed, roughly chopped 2 garlic cloves, minced ½ cup toasted walnuts ½ cup grated Parmesan ½ cup olive oil ½ cup canola oil 1 tablespoon sherry vinegar 1 ½ teaspoons salt
For the sherry vinaigrette: ½ cup sherry vinegar 1 shallot, minced 1 tablespoon honey 1 ½ cup olive oil salt & pepper to taste
Directions: Preheat your oven to 425° F. Toss the spring onions & carrot wedges with olive oil & salt, and roast on a baking sheet for about 20 minutes.
While these are cooking, prepare your sherry vinaigrette by whisking all the ingredients together in a bowl. When your vegetables are done, give your spring onions a couple extra chops and then let them marinate in the vinaigrette until you’re ready to use them. Increase the oven temperature to 550° F.
To cook the lion’s mane mushrooms, you’re going to saute them. The mushroom man at the farmer’s market told us he ate them raw, but I think they taste a lot better soaking up the butter in a pan. The consistency is similar to lobster, so some people use them as a substitute in bisques or other dishes. But again, sauteed in butter. Can’t go wrong.
Melt your butter with a little bit of olive oil in a pan and saute the mushrooms until they turn a warm, nutty brown. Season with salt & pepper and set aside.
To make the pesto, put the broccoli rabe, walnuts, parmesan, garlic, sherry vinegar & salt in a food processor. Slowly add the oils while pulsing, until it reaches a pesto consistency. Add more salt if needed.
When the oven is hot, prepare your dough using the instructions on the right. After you’ve baked it for a minute, take it out and brush it lightly with olive oil, followed by a thin layer of the pesto.
Add the goat cheese, carrots, onions, mushrooms & celtuce. (The celtuce is a Chinese cousin of celery—it sort of tastes like a cross between a water chestnut and asparagus).
Pop it in the oven and bake until the crust is a nice golden brown. Then take it out, add the shaved carrots, and enjoy!