A truly gourmet Italian frittata!
Lobster mushrooms are in season! In fact, quite a few fresh gourmet mushrooms are in season right now. I will be posting some nice recipes for fall season mushroom as soon as possible. As you can guess, I am backlogged with many recipes and restaurant reviews to write. A few days ago, bluefoot mushrooms were available. They sell very quickly at $39 per pound, because they are a very rare mushroom. Bluefoot mushrooms also sell quick, because they contain trace amounts of psilocybin and psilocin. Bluefoots are a mild hallucinogen, if they are consumed in small quantities. I sauteed a handful of bluefoots for an American bison steak and after dinner I was feeling rather good! I sure did some creative writing that night! Lobster mushrooms are in better supply. Both bluefoot mushrooms and lobster mushrooms are native to the American northwest forests. When the fogs of autumn cover the forest, it becomes mushroom gathering paradise! Lobster mushrooms are not a hallucinogen. Lobster mushrooms are not even mushrooms, so to speak. Lobster mushrooms at one time were a mushroom. This sounds like a riddle, but it is hard to explain what a lobster mushroom is in layman's terms. Lobster mushrooms are a parasitic ascomycete that grows only on two varieties of mushrooms. The true name for the parasitic lobster mushroom colony is Hypomyces lactifluorum. The orange red color of a lobster mushroom comes from the parasitic "fungus" that takes over the host mushroom. Underneath the red outer coating is a dense white colored mycelia like fungus that causes metamorphosis of the host mushroom. The two mushrooms that the Lobster parasitic ascomycete colonizes on are the Russula brevipes (Edible Short Stemmed White Russula Mushroom) and the Lactarius piperatus (Semi Edible Peppery Milk-Cap Mushroom). Peppery Milk Caps are commonly dried and used as a spice or seasoning, but they are rarely eaten as is, because they have a very strong flavor. Short Stemmed White Russula have a more palatable flavor. After the lobster parasitic ascomycete engulfs and takes over the host mushroom, the flavor and texture of the host mushroom changes dramatically. The Short Stemmed White Russula becomes a very nice seafood or shellfish flavor after the lobster parasitic ascomycete takes over. The acrid strong tasting Peppery Milk-Cap becomes a nice spicy peppery flavor that is very delicious. Therefore, there are two distinct flavors of lobster mushrooms! It can be difficult to distinguish which of the two mushrooms was the host after the lobster parasitic colony has taken over the mushroom. Basically, a shorter and wider looking stem section of a lobster mushroom may indicate a seafood flavor from the host Short Stemmed Russula. A longer looking stem section of lobster mushroom may indicate a spicy pepper flavor from the host Peppery Milk-Cap. Lobster mushrooms can be rather large. One lobster mushroom can flavor a few recipes. They do keep well, even after a few slices have been cut for a recipe. Do not store any kind of mushroom in an air tight plastic bag. Mushrooms are actually alive, and they do need to breath or bacteria and fungus may attach the mushroom. An open plastic bag or paper sack is good for keeping wild mushroom in a refrigerator for a few days. The lobster mushroom that I chose for this recipe had a gentle nice seafood kind of flavor, so florence fennel (anise bulb) was a good choice for a complimentary flavor. Piave Vecchio comes from Veneto Italy. It is a hard cows milk cheese that grates like parmigiano reggiano. Piave Vecchio is usually aged for over 180 days. Fruit and almond undertone flavors can be noticed. Piave Vecchio has a nice semi sweet flavor and semi sharp flavor at the same time. Piave Vecchio is one of the world's great cheeses!
Frittata di Aragoste Funghi, Finochio e Formaggio Piave Vecchio: Heat a saute pan over medium/medium low heat. Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Add 6 thin slices of florence fennel (anise bulb). Cut the slices vertically through the center of the bulb, to get a shape like those in the photographs above. Season with sea salt and black pepper. Saute the florence fennel slices on both sides, till golden highlights appear. Set the sauteed florence fennel slices aside. Heat a saute pan over medium heat. Add 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil. Add 1 pat of unsalted butter. Add 6 long thin slices of fresh lobster mushroom and a few small slices. Saute till light brown highlights appear on the mushroom slices. Season with sea salt and black pepper. Set the sauteed lobster mushrooms aside. Heat a non-stick saute pan over medium/medium low heat. Add 3 pats of unsalted butter. Add 2 whisked eggs. Use a rubber spatula to even the edges of the frittata. When the bottom half of the frittata becomes cooked and firm, remove the pan from the heat. Evenly space the sauteed florence fennel slices around on top of the uncooked eggs on the frittata. Place the long sauteed slices of lobster mushroom between the fennel slices. Place a tiny mound of the small lobster mushroom slices on the center of the frittata. Sprinkle 1 small pinch of oregano over the frittata. Sprinkle a few pinches of fine plain breadcrumbs over the frittata. Sprinkle some finely grated Piave Vecchio cheese over the frittata. Place the pan with the frittata in a 350 degree oven. Bake till the eggs become fully cooked and till the cheese melts. (Do not brown the cheese!) Remove the pan from the oven and slide the frittata onto a plate. Place a tiny sprig of the green top leaves of the florence fennel on each slice of fennel as a garnish. Place a sprig of Italian parsley on the small mound of lobster mushrooms on the center of the frittata as a garnish.
As the readers of this blog have heard many times, there is no such thing as a boring breakfast in my food blog! This is a gourmet mushroom lover's frittata. The flavors of each ingredient compliments each other in a delicate nice way. Yum! Ciao Baby! ... Shawna
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