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Polish style pickled Mushrooms
I happened across a large Chicken Of The Woods ( Laetiporus sulphureus )yesterday. I’ve had an interest in Mycology since I was young and know the easily distinguish edible fungi reasonably well. But a cautionary note first – If you are not 100% sure of what you have found it’s really not a good idea to eat it. Chicken Of The Woods is a polypore fungus which grows of damaged and dying trees. It can only really be confused with The Blackening Polypore but as this is also edible there not much of an issue if you have the wrong one. But it’s clear as soon as you cut them. As the name indicates The Blackening Polypore turns black quite quickly when cut. This recipe was suggested by the Polish chap at our local deli. He asked why I was buying two large bottles of 10% pickling vinegar. When I told him he smiled and said that adding a Bay leaf and Coriander or Dill seeds will remove the slightly woody taste. Our Polish friends have a much more positive outlook on fungi than we do and have been preserving them for centuries.
If you fancy trying this with ordinary shop bought mushrooms it will work equally well. The only pickled mushrooms we’ve had which were not to our taste were pickled Ceps which have the texture of Slugs – Shudders!
Ingredients:-
Mushrooms of your choice (Ceps if you really must!)
Coriander Seeds
1 Bay Leaf
1 large clove of Garlic, sliced
10% Pickling or distilled Vinegar
Method:-
(1) Chop the mushrooms into quite large pieces. If you are using Chestnut Mushrooms for example, halve them.
(2) Add enough Mushroom to fill a large jar. We had a Kilner jar, but any large jar will do.
(3) Add the seeds, Bay leaf and Garlic.
(4) Top the jar up with Vinegar so that all the Mushrooms are submerged.
(5) Seal and pop in a cupboard.
They should be pickled in a week or two. Once pickled they will keep for a considerable length of time. Unless we really like them…...
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- Written by Tony Carson
- Category: Recipes
We’re moving steadily forward with our Ingredients Alphabet gig. K? Well it’s Kale season, it would have been rude not to….
Kale with Onion and Bacon
Ingredients:-
Kale (Obviously!)
1 medium Onion sliced
3 rashers of streaky Bacon, chopped
Salt & Pepper
1 clove of Garlic, crushed
Oil to fry
Method:-
(1) Blanch the Kale for a couple of minutes.
(2) Add the Onion and Garlic to a frying pan and fry until the Onion is translucent.
(3) Add the Bacon and fry for a couple of minutes.
(4) Season with Salt and Pepper.
(5) Add the blanched Kale and stir well for a couple of minutes.
Crispy Kale
Ingredients:-
Kale, chopped
Method:-
(1) Blanch the Kale for a couple of minutes.
(2) Drain well.
(3) Pre-heat oil to 180C in a deep fat fryer or similar.
(4) Fry the Kale until crispy and drain well on kitchen paper.
Kale might be a bit of a primitive Brassica, but it has so much more flavour than the generic white Cabbage alternative.
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- Written by Tony Carson
- Category: Recipes
There’s a Polish Deli just around the corner. We love Garlic. But I might have over done it with the 5 bulbs I bought last week. So what is the traditional / historic way to deal with an excess of Garlic?
Ingredients:-
Garlic cloves, cut in half - lots of!
2 table spoons of salt
2 table spoons of sugar
Dill Seeds, whole (They have the Lactobacillus bacteria you need)
Black Pepper Corns (They also the have Lactobacillus bacteria you need)
Water
Method:-
(1) Add the Salt and Sugar to the water. It will dissolve over time. Don’t heat it as you will kill the bacteria.
(2) Cover the Garlic cloves, Dill seeds and Pepper Corns in the brine.
(3) Pour into a sealable jar and pop the lid on.
(4) Vent every day, more often as the fermentation peaks. (You will fill the house with the smell of Garlic!)
(5) After a month or so the fermentation will die off. Good to eat. But only use ½ the amount which you would have with fresh Garlic!!!!
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- Written by Tony Carson
- Category: Recipes
I carted a discount isle Chicken back from Darlington with me the other day. It wasn’t actually any cheaper than the local discount isle Chickens – But it was exotic in it’s own way, in my strange mind!
We’re also at “J” in our Ingredients Alphabet and Jerk Chicken fits nicely!
Ingredients:-
Chicken, roughly cut into joints / portions
Spring Onions, chopped
Ginger, a thumb sized bit grated
2 cloves of Garlic, grated
1 medium Onion, sliced
3 small hot hot Chillies, sliced
Chilli flakes
Thyme
Juice of a Lemon
Soy Sauce
Oil
Sugar
All Spice
Salt & Pepper
Method:-
(1) In a blender blitz all the ingredients – Not the Chicken!
(2) Marinade the Chicken portions for 30 minutes or more.
(3) Roast at 180C for 40 minutes or into tender.
We served ours on a bed of Rice and Peas with a hot Chilli sauce on the top and the greens from the Spring Onions.
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- Written by Tony Carson
- Category: Recipes
Discount fridge Pork shoulder can be tough as old boots if you try to cook it too quickly. This certainly wasn't!
Ingredients:-
1 large Onion, quartered
2 cloves of Garlic, minced
Salt & Pepper
Mixed Spice
Rosemary
Chilli flakes
500ml of Stock
½ pint of Cider
2 tbsp Cider Vinegar
Method:-
(1) Lay the Onions in the bottom of the slow cooker.
(2) Place the Pork shoulder on to of the Onions.
(3) Season with the herbs and spices.
(4) Mix the remaining ingredients with the stock and pour around the meat.
(5) Cook in a slow cooker on high, or in a casserole at 120C for about 6 hours. The Pork should be tender enough to pull apart.
We served ours with mashed Potato, Cauliflower Cheese, Indian style Stuffing balls and sautéed Beetroot top with peppers – for a little colour. This Shoulder recipe is really good!
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- Written by Tony Carson
- Category: Recipes
This is going to sound very odd. But experiments sometimes work!
I found some Shaggy Ink Caps in the communal area near the flat. Although they are really good eating they degrade quickly and really don’t store well. So they need eating the day you pick them realistically. We also had an opened pack of Bombay Mix which had gone a bit soggy. Not a great ingredients list so far?!
Ingredients:-
Soggy Bombay Mix!
4 large Shaggy Ink Caps
Water - If required
Method:-
(1) In a food processor blitz the Bombay mix.
(2) Add the Ink Caps and blitz everything. The mushrooms contain a good deal of water so you will end up with something which is reasonably wet.
(3) If needed add a little more water to make the dough manageable.
(4) Form into balls and pop in the oven for the last 20 minutes with your roast.
There is an old wives tale that you shouldn’t eat Shaggy Ink Caps and drink Alcohol. It is just that – An old wives tale. They are a very good “Beginners Mushroom” for foraging as there is nothing similar looking which will do you any harm.
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