How To Cook Puffball Mushrooms Food

FRIED PUFFBALL MUSHROOMS

Steps:

• Preheat an oven to 225, or to a warm setting.
• Mix the flour with the salt. If you can grind the salt in a spice grinder to make it fine, do it.
• If you haven't already, slice off the root end of the puffball and inspect for any bug damage, the flesh of the mushroom should be perfectly white, not at all greenish-yellow.
• Using a long, sharp slicing knife, slice the puffball into 1/2 inch or so slices. Liberally coat the mushroom slices in flour, then tap off the excess and dip them in beaten egg, then the panko breadcrumbs. Heat a generous amount of oil in a pan (1/4-1/2 a cup should be good depending on the size of your mushroom slices and the size of your pan) on medium heat. When the oil is hot and a breadcrumb sizzles in it, add the puffball slices and cook until golden brown on each side. Watch the heat, and increase or decrease it slightly, keeping an eye on the mushrooms so you don't burn them.
• Pay close attention to the amount of oil in the pan, the breadcrumbs are going to soak up oil, and you don't to let the pan get dry, think of it like a shallow deep-fry. If the pan gets dry, add more oil.
• Once the mushrooms are browned, place them in the warm oven on a cookie sheet with a resting rack to prevent the heat from being trapped and steaming the crispy crust until you're done with the rest.
• When the mushrooms are all fried, sprinkle them lightly with some nice salt if you have, or just kosher salt, dress the arugula or other greens with the lemon, olive oil, salt and pepper to taste, then serve immediately.

GIANT PUFFBALL MUSHROOM CRUST PIZZA

Steps:

• Wash the Giant Puffball and remove the outer leathery skin like layer. If you see the puffball has begun to spore, throw it away. Wash off any left over dirt.
• Slice the Giant Puffball into 3/4 inch slices (the best you can) I like to use the slices in the middle because they are bigger. Use 2 slices for the recipe. Freeze or dehydrate any remaining puffball immediately or it will not be good the next day.
• Lightly brush olive oil on both sides of each slice. Place the slices on your gas grill. Turn the slices over carefully. They should be slightly crispy on both sides and you should be able to see the grill marks. Puffballs are very moist and spongy and it is necessary to remove some of the moisture with this process.
• Lightly spread tomato pizza sauce (you may also use pesto sauce on your pizza or make sauceless pizza. If you use sauce on your pizza, place a very small amount because the mushroom will still be very moist.
• Cover the top of your pizza with shredded cheese and your favorite toppings. The amount of toppings will depend on the size of your slices.
• Place the slices on a sheet pan covered with tin foil.
• Bake in a 400 degree preheated oven until the cheese turns slightly brown on the top and all of your toppings are cooked through. Again, the length of cooking time depends on how many topings you put.

PUFFBALL MUSHROOM LASAGNA

Steps:

• Heat the oil with the garlic and onions and cook until translucent on medium heat. Add the tomatoes, wine, basil, a pinch of salt and the red pepper flakes, then simmer the mixture gently for 30 minutes. Puree the mixture carefully in a highspeed blender while still hot, then pass through a fine chinois strainer (optional) and reserve until needed.
• Melt the butter then add the flour to form a roux, cook on medium heat until it smells toasty, the add the milk in four separate 1/4 cup additions, whisking well to make sure the milk is incorporated before adding the next 1/4 cup. When all the milk has been added and the sauce has thickened nicely, remove it from the heat and whisk in the salt and nutmeg to taste, then the parmesan. Transfer the sauce to a container to cool.
• Mix all ingredients together until combined.
• First, cook the puffball slices. You can do this a number of different ways, but I like to rub them with oil or melted butter and cook each slice of puffball mushroom on the stove in a cast iron skillet, if you're in an apartment, you may want to open the windows and turn off the smoke detector for that. Alternately, grease and bake, or grill until wilted.
• Preheat the oven to 350. When all the puffball slices are cooked, liberally spread the bottom of the baking dish with tomato sauce, and top with a 1/4 cup or so of the bechamel.
• Place a layer of sliced puffball mushroom on top, then top that with half of the spinach filling, then more tomato sauce and bechamel, then another layer of mushrooms, then the other half of the filling, then more tomato and bechamel, then another layer of mushrooms, then tomato, bechamel, and extra grated mozzarella and parmesan.
• When the lasagna is assembled, bake, uncovered until hot throughout and the crust is golden brown, about 45 minutes. If your oven isn't browing the top, turn up the heat for a couple minutes until it's all golden crusty and delicious.