” Off course he is not going to replace you with an ostrich. Besides, that is a Puffball mushroom, not an egg”
I remembered this cartoon that Mrs BYF did when we saw and tasted our first Puffball. Since the events are few and far between I thought that I could get away with recycling it!
It was our second opportunity to taste a Puffball mushroom. This one was a lot bigger than the previous one and after everyone had eaten we still had leftovers. The texture is marshmallowy or tofu like and is complimented well if fried in a crispy jacket of egg and unflavoured fresh bread crumbs ( Since I had fed all the bread that Mrs BYF had saved for the crumbs to the chickens she had to make do with foccacia crumbs, which were a trifle coarse). The flavour is very delicate, subtle mushroom and is easily lost by adding spices or other flavours. The breadcrumbs were considered salty enough so no salt was added. We used a bit of vegetable oil and butter as the frying medium. Previously we made a frittata with a bit of uncooked mushroom, which was nice, but did not do the mushroom any favours. The texture was lost in that of the cooked egg and the flavour was hardly discernible. The piece of mushroom had also spent the night in the fridge and that may also have been a bad idea.
The spores of this mushroom could be dormant for 10 years and mushrooms only appear when conditions are perfect. Nobody knows what conditions are required, so we can only hope and keep an eye out for next Autumn.
Crumbed and Fried. Enjoy!
We are so privileged that Puffball Mushrooms are growing in our friend’s garden across the road, and even more privileged that they are prepared to to share it with us for a MUSHROOM FEAST every year. So it was with great excitement that they called and announced that the puffballs are up. We went to take photographs today and will harvest them tomorrow for the feast in the evening. We shall report on recipes and results the day after tomorrow!!! How good can life be?
Today, while I was building a Rooster Box to shut up Alvin (literally as well), Mrs BYF really delivered!! Peperoni Ripieni di Riso e Peperoni Ripieni Melanzane.
We found some perfect, ripe, small capsicums, just right for a great antipasto. Half of them were stuffed with risotto made with onion, a bit of home made pancetta and one mushroom that had escaped yesterday’s lunch. The rest were stuffed with eggplant, and here is the recipe with a hearty Salute! to the great Marcella Hazan.
Pepperoni Ripieni (with eggplant)
4 small peppers, if you are using large ones adjust the recipe to suit
1/2 cup fresh unflavoured breadcrumbs
1 tablespoon anchovies chopped
1 big pinch of oregano
1 tablespoon capers chopped
2 cloves of garlic (adjust to taste) chopped
1 ripe, fresh tomato, chopped. It should really be peeled but I could not be bothered
1/2 cup of fried eggplant chopped
2 tablespoons of fresh flat leaf parseley chopped
olive oil for sprinkling at the end. The fried eggplant will have enough oil so you do not have to add to the mix
pinch of salt
black pepper
retain 3 tablespoon of crumbs to sprinkle at the end
Place the whole peppers under the grill and roast on all sides until the skin is charred all over. Let cool and when you can handle them, remove the skin and seeds carefully. retain the ‘pocket’ shape of the pepper. The roasting makes the flesh of the pepper dense and luscious and imparts a smokey flavour. I always have fried eggplant in the fridge under oil but it is very easy to fry the eggplant in a bit of oil until soft. Slice the eggplant in slices about 1cm thick, sprinkle with salt and leave for 20 minutes at least. Rinse off the salt and dry well with a paper towel. Heat the oil in a heavy bottomed pan and and fry the pieces of eggplant without overlapping or overcrowding.
Mix and chop all the ingredients together, adjust the salt to taste. Stuff the peppers tightly with the mixture. Pack them in an ovenproof dish big enough to contain all of them and keep them from falling over. Sprinkle with the left over crumbs, add a tiny drizzle of olive oil, and bake for 20 minutes in an oven pre heated to 200 degrees
Remove from oven and leave to cool for about 10 minutes or bring to room temperature before serving. Do not refrigerate before eating.
All of this enjoyed with some perfect red home made wine and afterwards I would be excused extending my siesta to 90 minutes in stead of the normal 60. ENJOY!!
Back Yard Farmer 