Recipe: Wild Mushroom Salad
Page: 78
Date Cooked: February 15, 2012
This recipe somewhat follows a technique I used in a previous recipe, Warm Dandelion, Bacon, and Potato Salad, where you use the hot bacon fat to wilt the greens. In this recipe, you use the warm mushrooms tossed in a vinaigrette to wilt the greens. The fun part of this recipe was looking for wild mushrooms and once I saw them in the store, I knew it was time to pull this recipe out.
The first step was to make the garlic croutons. I cut up the sourdough bread into cubes and baked until golden. In the meantime, I minced the garlic. I put the croutons in a bowl and mixed in the rosemary, olive oil, and garlic.
I cleaned the mushrooms and cut them into bite-sized pieces. I put the pine nuts on a baking sheet and toasted them for just a few minutes. Once they were toasted, I poured the pine nuts in a bowl and seasoned with a bit of salt. I also sliced the prosciutto into strips.
Then it was on to the vinaigrette...I minced the shallot and put it in a small bowl. I whisked in the sherry vinegar and the walnut oil. The recipe also calls for hazelnut oil - but since I couldn't find any, I simply used double the amount of walnut oil. I then stirred in the chives, sage, and pepper. I also put the lettuces in a large salad bowl and mixed in the basil.
I heated some olive oil in a large skillet until almost smoking. I added the mushrooms and seasoned with salt and pepper. I cooked the mushrooms until they were nice and golden and then quickly added the vinaigrette.
I added the mushrooms to the lettuce and tossed. I added the pine nuts, prosciutto, and croutons and mixed it all together. Finally, I seasoned it with some salt and pepper.
This salad was delicious. The crunch of the croutons and pine nuts, the earthiness of the mushrooms, the freshness of the lettuces, and the salt and fat of the prosciutto worked harmoniously. It tasted just as good as it looks. I want to make note of one of the mushrooms I used - the hedgehog mushroom. It smelled amazing. I could not believe the intense amount of flavor that came from this one mushroom. JW mentions really trying to use wild mushrooms for this recipe to get all the flavor of the salad and it makes sense. Overall, a beautiful, delicious salad.
Page: 78
Date Cooked: February 15, 2012
This recipe somewhat follows a technique I used in a previous recipe, Warm Dandelion, Bacon, and Potato Salad, where you use the hot bacon fat to wilt the greens. In this recipe, you use the warm mushrooms tossed in a vinaigrette to wilt the greens. The fun part of this recipe was looking for wild mushrooms and once I saw them in the store, I knew it was time to pull this recipe out.
 |
| Ingredients: Sourdough bread, garlic, rosemary, olive oil, pine nuts, salt, mixed wild mushrooms - shitake and hedgehog, prosciutto, shallot, sherry vinegar, walnut oil, chives, sage leaves, black pepper, mixed torn firm lettuces - endive and romaine, and basil leaves |
The first step was to make the garlic croutons. I cut up the sourdough bread into cubes and baked until golden. In the meantime, I minced the garlic. I put the croutons in a bowl and mixed in the rosemary, olive oil, and garlic.
 |
| Making garlic croutons |
I cleaned the mushrooms and cut them into bite-sized pieces. I put the pine nuts on a baking sheet and toasted them for just a few minutes. Once they were toasted, I poured the pine nuts in a bowl and seasoned with a bit of salt. I also sliced the prosciutto into strips.
 |
| 1. Cleaned mushrooms 2. Toasted pine nuts with salt 3. Sliced prosciutto |
Then it was on to the vinaigrette...I minced the shallot and put it in a small bowl. I whisked in the sherry vinegar and the walnut oil. The recipe also calls for hazelnut oil - but since I couldn't find any, I simply used double the amount of walnut oil. I then stirred in the chives, sage, and pepper. I also put the lettuces in a large salad bowl and mixed in the basil.
 |
| 1. Vinaigrette 2. Mixed lettuces with basil |
I heated some olive oil in a large skillet until almost smoking. I added the mushrooms and seasoned with salt and pepper. I cooked the mushrooms until they were nice and golden and then quickly added the vinaigrette.
 |
| Mushrooms with vinaigrette |
I added the mushrooms to the lettuce and tossed. I added the pine nuts, prosciutto, and croutons and mixed it all together. Finally, I seasoned it with some salt and pepper.
 |
| Wild Mushroom Salad |
This salad was delicious. The crunch of the croutons and pine nuts, the earthiness of the mushrooms, the freshness of the lettuces, and the salt and fat of the prosciutto worked harmoniously. It tasted just as good as it looks. I want to make note of one of the mushrooms I used - the hedgehog mushroom. It smelled amazing. I could not believe the intense amount of flavor that came from this one mushroom. JW mentions really trying to use wild mushrooms for this recipe to get all the flavor of the salad and it makes sense. Overall, a beautiful, delicious salad.
Enjoy!
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