Puffball Mushroom Soup Food

DRIED PUFFBALL POWDER

Steps:

• Place the puffballs on cookie sheets or the drying racks of a dehydrator. If you're using an oven, put in on the lowest setting possible, and put the puffball pieces on some wax paper on the cookie sheets so they don't stick.
• Allow the puffballs to dry completely, until they're cracker dry. If you're questioning if they're dried enough, dry them longer, I usually do it overnight. (make sure to crack the window or do it in a garage or outside because your house will reek of puffball.
• Once the puffball slices are completely dried, they may be powdered in a vita-mix or other dry-capable blender. If you don't have a blender that can powder things, you can use a coffee grinder, but that will take a very long time. For added depth of flavor, you can toast the slices of puffball in an oven (325 F until barely golden) before grinding.
• When ground, the puffball powder is lighter than air, so much so that it's culinary properties were very deceiving at first.
• After the puffball powder is ground, it can be stored indefinitely in a labeled, dated, air-tight container in a pantry or away from sunlight, then used as needed.

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.

SCRAMBLED EGGS WITH WILD PUFFBALL MUSHROOMS

Steps:

• Place a skillet over medium heat and add butter.
• Break eggs into a bowl, add mushrooms, and whisk together vigorously. Reserve about 2 tablespoons green onions.
• Pour eggs into the hot butter in the skillet and scramble to create soft, fluffy curds. Add remaining green onions, salt, and pepper while scrambling to desired doneness, 3 to 5 minutes, being careful not to overcook. Garnish with reserved green onions.