Autumn brings beauty to our land and bounty to our kitchens. For some people Autumn is about pumpkins, for our family it's more about mushrooms. Another day I spoke to my parents via Skype, and my mother showed me her "harvest" of wild mushrooms. I leaned towards a monitor almost flipping it over: I love mushrooms, especially the wild once, that fill your kitchen with the earthy aroma even before it's cooked. Imagine how fragrant is the kitchen when cooking starts!
Being thousands miles away from what's cooking in my mother's kitchen, to make me feel better I went "foraging" through aisles of a local grocery store. I picked some portobello mushrooms. They are not as aromatic as the wild one, but with a little trick they can do a job. And what is better than mushrooms and potatoes together? For dinner?
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Roasted Mushrooms and Potato cakes
Ingredients:
- 3-4 Russet potatoes, peeled, cooked and mashed
- 2-3 portobello mushrooms, sliced
- 1 leek, white part only, shaved
- 1 cup bread crumbs
- 1/2 cup canola or sunflower oil
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1/4 cup mushroom sauce
- 2 tablespoons chives, chopped, for garnishing
- salt an pepper to taste
1. Pre-heat oven to 400 F (200 C).
2. In a skillet preheat one tablespoon oil, and add leeks. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and saute until translucent. Remove from the heat, and set aside.
3. Wash portobello mushrooms, pat dry with a towel, and slice into 4-5 pieces.
4. Position sliced mushrooms in one layer on a nonstick baking pan and place it in the oven for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven, let it cool until easy to handle. Then chop mushrooms into small pieces.
5. In a separate bowl mix together mashed potatoes, chopped mushrooms, and leeks. Taste and adjust the seasoning: add salt and pepper, and taste again.
6. On a medium-high preheat a skillet with 1-2 tablespoon oil in it, form small patties, dip each side in bread crumbs, and fry on each side until golden brown (about 1 or 2 minutes on each side).
7. Serve hot with some sour cream and mushroom sauce (recipe is coming soon). Garnish with chives.
This meal goes well with some red wine or a good beer. Optional... :)
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| Next American Top Model... :) |
See you,
Marina
Hi Marina. I just read your about me page and I love how you put yourself out there. Wow, you made such a sacrifice to follow your husband and leave your life behind. I'm not sure to many of us could do that. I love how through your challenges though you found your calling. I started my blog for some of the same reasons and it has really helped fill a void in my life as well. It’s wonderful to share something you love with the world and to inspire others as well. Best of luck and I am excited to follow this journey along with you.
ReplyDeleteHi Jacquelyn, thank you for visiting my blog! Yes, that is exactly how I describe blogging to my friends: to fill a void. Great minds do think alike! :) Please, do come back. I guess this family's adventure never ends... :)
DeleteI love mushrooms, too. My families are not keen to mushrooms so I don't get to use them often. What a shame! Thanks for the great mushroom recipe. BTW I love your photo of the next American top model. That cracked me up!
ReplyDeleteThank you Holly. When I lived with my parents I didn't eat mushrooms either, I just didn't like it. And then my daughter was born, my tastes changed. Now mushrooms are my favorite ingredient. :)
DeleteWonderful combination, something about fall that makes me crave the earthiness of mushrooms! Looking forward to finding out more about what you topped the cakes with...
ReplyDeleteThank you, Dairy of a Tomato! I was so pleased to learn that we have one friend: The Awaiting Table. This culinary school is on my to do list, and was referred to me by one of my former co-worker. :)
DeleteThey look so tasty. :)
ReplyDeleteThank you Lindy. They do usually come out tasty: it is hard to spoil the mushroom-potato combination. Those two ingredients marry so well... :)
DeleteLooks like you made something wonderful...sounds so satisfying, too. I'm in for washing it down with a beer. :D
ReplyDeleteHi Heather, I am with you on a beer! :)
DeleteI miss so much mushroom picking too... I haven't done it for at least 15 years! Nothing tastes better than mushrooms picked by yourself. Your cakes look fantastic. One of the rare meatless dishes I would enjoy without missing meat. Thanks for sharing this appetising recipe.
ReplyDeleteI love to go mushroom picking with someone who know what they are doing, like my mother, because I have no idea how to recognize those treasures. Sometimes all mushrooms on my path look poisonous, and other times they all look good. I really need to learn more about wild mushroom foraging... :)
DeleteThat looks really delicious and that goat looks awesome :)
ReplyDeleteThank you Ilan! Those goats were fun to watch. :)
DeleteThat's so great--where is your mom gathering the mushrooms from, and does she have one of those nifty guides to mushroom-harvesting? Knowing my unfortunate sense of judgment and ineptitude at things like bird call recognition, I don't know if I'd trust myself to try it...but it sounds mighty fun, like this recipe!
ReplyDeleteMy parents live in Europe, and that's where they go foraging for mushrooms. And, no, my mother doesn't use any guide. She learned it from her parents, so it's natural. And both of my parents are biologists (retired, finally!), which helps, I guess... :)
DeleteI love mushrooms! This looks amazing!
ReplyDeleteI love mushrooms too, here is another recipe I made, that everyone loves:http://www.picnicatmarina.com/2012/02/oscar-night-dinner-mushroom-pate.html
Delete:)
these look fab, love your goats too
ReplyDeleteThanks Rebecca. I wish I had those goats, but they are not mine: I live on the second floor. :)
DeleteHehe you are so funny. Almost toppling the computer monitor over is something I would do! :P
ReplyDeleteMushrooms are never boring to cook with! :)
DeleteYour opening photo is really beautiful, Marina, and these mushroom cakes sound delicious. i wish I had access to wild mushrooms but I'm glad you mentioned portobellos would do. Now, about those goats ... :)
ReplyDeleteHi John, I wish I had some of those mushrooms my mother picked too, they are so-so delicious! chanterelle are good too if you can come by some. I work with what I have available. Aren't those goats fun? Those goats produce the best goat milk ever! :)
Deleteabsolute beautiful food styling and photography - not to mention the sneeky shots of '...america's next top model' Great fun to see and read all this. Ciao, Carina
ReplyDeleteThank you Carina for your kind comment, especially on photography :)
DeleteAre those your goats, Marina? Love them! And love your potato/mushroom cakes, too...so nice that cooking can connect you to your family even though they are far away.
ReplyDeleteHi Lizzy, oh no, those aren't my goats, I would like to have this model though! Those goats belong to one of my friends that I buy a goat milk from. :)
DeleteMushrooms are my favorite also, specially the wild ones. I got a big bag of dry "belwe" from Russia. The aroma is amazing! I missing to go to the forest and collect some wild mushrooms. Wonderful recipe, Marina! I am glad to see you again and you are cooking grate dishes.
ReplyDeleteI can only imagine how the aroma of wild mushrooms hits you when you open the bag! I need some of your mushrooms for my next dish... :)
DeleteThanks for your compliment on dishes I've made!
Nice dish. Wild mushrooms are the best, but portobellos really do have nice flavor. Looking forward to reading about the mushroom sauce! In the meantime, I'm enjoying your great goat picture!
ReplyDelete