The Fungi Trifecta

Brown Buttered Corn Bread with Sauteed Mushrooms and Black Garlic

The fungus that we have among us today are shimenji, king oyster, and shitake. That last one, shitake, is not one of my favorites, as I think their flavor can be very overpowering, so their presence in my dish today is quite limited. But I do believe that they certainly have their place in the world of fungi. Which, by the way, is probably my all time favorite vegetable variety. I love their savoriness, earthiness, textures, and their elegant and organic shapes and colors. They are simply exquisite.

This is very reminiscent of a dish that I learned of from a former chef that I had the opportunity to work for. Ever since I saw his dish, I have been wanting to make a version of mine own. And in my last few trips to the Berkeley Bowl, I have been noticing something new. They started carrying black garlic. So I took that as a sign that it was time to make this dish.

I started by baking off a small pan of corn bread, then sauteed the corn bread in some browned butter, and set that onto a plate. I prepped my mushrooms, and sauteed them in some butter, garlic, salt and pepper, then laid them on top of the corn bread. I chopped up my black garlic, and arranged some beet tops onto the plate to add color and a fresh leafy texture. And there we have it folks, my mushroom trifecta!