This time of year is an exciting time at the Santa Monica Farmers’ Market, one of my favorite places to buy organic produce. As the weather warms up we start to see changes from mostly root vegetables to some fruit with a brighter hue to them. In addition, the fruit out there starts to get sweeter and more complex in flavor. Another change after the sky falls is wild mushrooms! They make for a great pizza, a side to a great steak, wonderful sauce for pasta, just about anything can be done with them.
So how do you enhance the flavor of great mushrooms? You have to take the moisture out of them to concentrate their flavors. I like to sauté or roast them. If you want to sauté them, my favorite choice of fat is unsalted butter. Take enough butter and put it in a warm pan with the heat on high, just to cover the whole bottom surface of it and when it starts sizzling, sprinkle salt and ground black pepper to taste, followed by sliced garlic and sliced shallots. When the garlic gets light brown, throw in your mushrooms and toss it through so that the butter evenly coats all the mushrooms, then don’t touch the pan until you see the edges of the mushrooms start to caramelize. Then give it a nice toss and leave it again until there is more caramelization. When most of the mushrooms have golden edges, taste for seasoning and then deglaze with your favorite chardonnay. Once all your wine has evaporated away, enjoy.
Roasting is even more simple. Just toss the mushrooms in a little olive oil to coat with salt and pepper, sliced garlic and sliced shallots. Taste one piece for seasoning and adjust. Toss in a preheated 375F oven on a flat roasting pan for about 15 minutes, then toss and return to the oven for another 10 minutes. When you have nicely roasted mushrooms with golden brown edges, enjoy.
Foraging for mushrooms can be a treat, especially if you are with an experienced person. Did you know that there are mushrooms in the mountains surrounding our valley? So, exciting! The warm weather coupled with clear skies and smog-less air makes for a beautiful day out. Try a hike and a picnic along with the foraging and make a day of it.
By the way, check out our website for our Happy Hour. Receive half off on most of our appetizers along with adult beverage deals.
Maru Restaurant is located at 24250 Town Center Drive in Valencia. For more information, please call 661-290-2595 and visit www.MaruValencia.com .