Article by K.M.  Wehstein / Photography by Thomasz Szumski

Depending on who you listen to, it is estimated there are 30,000 to 140,000 species of mushrooms in the world, of which only a small fraction are known. Lowly and insignificant though mushrooms and other fungi might seem, they actually knit nature together – forming networks of underground nutrient pathways, thousands of kilometres long, that help nourish the mightiest trees. Sections of mushrooms in the wild have even been known to kill themselves off to protect their fellow mushrooms from contracting disease.

Of the known species, around 150 are edible, while others can kill if ingested (so forage carefully!). Mushrooms present an impressive range of flavour to the explorative palate.

Mushroom farmer Mike Eddy, owner-operator of Muskoka Mushroom and Plant Store in Severn Bridge, started foraging as a boy for fiddleheads, wild leeks and, in time, mushrooms.

“I thought, you can only forage for half the season,” he says. “If I started growing them, I could have them all year round.”

The owner of several other businesses, Eddy was at an ice-fishing trade show in Toronto about three winters ago and happened to have his booth next to a mushroom farmer.

“We ended up being really good buddies at the end of the three days and he gave me a blue oyster mushroom kit he had on his table,” says Eddy. “I ate it, loved it, grew another off that bag. It was the first time I’d seen mushrooms growing out of the side of a bag.”

A bag? Yes – this is how mushroom growing is done by many growers. Eddy went commercial last year, selling fresh mushrooms to fine eateries and stores mostly south of Muskoka. He also sells mushroom growing kits with instructions and leads foraging tours, for the adventurous. For a reasonable price he supplies a kit, including the bag.

“Take it home, cut a hole in the side of it, spray it three times a day and in two weeks you have mushrooms,” he says. They can be any of the species he offers including yellow, blue and king oysters and the currently trendy lion’s mane, the only mushroom that can be made into a steak.

Eddy grows his fungal treasures indoors for a cleaner, controlled and bug-free environment, producing 300 pounds per month out of a 16 by eight foot room. He busts some myths: mushrooms do need light and don’t need so much heat. And he has big plans for the future.

“I’d really like to expand the business and make possibly one of the largest mushroom facilities in Ontario,” shares Eddy. “That way I can price mushrooms so they are actually accessible to people.”

Michelle MacIsaac, the owner-operator of Humble Pie Bakery & Pizzeria in Baysville, has the business in her blood as her father owned a Toronto pizzeria for 47 years.

“I have memories of being in the back of the pizza shop playing, being covered in flour and eating pepperoni,” she recalls.

Once grown up, however, MacIsaac rocketed into the fast-paced Bay Street corporate world, holding various executive positions for 23 years. A desire for a change of pace led her to a house in the woods in Muskoka and a less skyscraper-oriented business, when opportunity knocked in the form of a bakery in Baysville.

Thus, in April 2010, Humble Pie was born. Baker Jennifer Wood has been with MacIsaac from the start and she employs two more year-round part-time and three summer staffers. As well as traditional Italian-style pizza, the cheery, delicious-smelling eatery offers scrumptious baked goods (sweet and savoury), artisan breads, seasonal stews, deli-style sandwiches and paninis, coffee, cold drinks and tea. From local businesses, which MacIsaac likes to support, come honey, maple syrup, fair-trade coffee, sourdough bread and an assortment of freeze-dried candy. Oh, and quiches: on a good weekend Humble Pie will sell as many as 40.

“I love mushrooms, all kinds!” enthuses MacIsaac. “They are versatile and add so much flavour to any recipe.”

Generally, she uses button mushrooms in her commercial fare, except in beef stroganoff, which contains creminis.

“I have no favourite, I love them all,” she shares. “I often make mushroom ragu for myself and use any and every type of mushroom I can get my hands on… button, cremini, oyster, enoki, portobello, you name it.”

MacIsaac’s Mushroom Swiss Quiche was inspired by the fact that she was a vegetarian for a number of years. “Mushrooms became a staple for me,” she recalls. This leads to another take-home point about mushrooms: they have a meaty taste.

“I love cross purposing ingredients at the bakery and I love the combination of the earthiness of mushrooms together with the tang of the Swiss cheese,” says MacIsaac.

The dish delivers just as described, providing a consummate balance of mushroom earthiness and fluffy, light-as-air cheese on the crunchy foundation of a perfect crust.

And now we go to quite the extreme opposite of humble.

Executive chef Aaron Clyne of Windermere House is once again sharing his incredible culinary theory with us. You might recall his expositions on the four flavours, checkboxes, layers of flavour and such from his turkey dinner tips last fall.

“You come to a restaurant, as well as for the convenience, to try something new,” says Clyne. “Our job is giving people experiences, including taking them out of their comfort zone, getting them to do something they never did before. As human beings we pay for entertainment, and if sustenance is part of it, you try to figure out how to entertain them throughout the meal. It should be a little bit of a learning experience, without the pretence.”

Clyne is a mushroom enthusiast not only for their culinary capacity but their medicinal properties as well.

“Mushrooms will do miraculous things in the next years, prove the cure for a lot of things,” he predicts.

In cuisine, he says, “You have to build flavours around other ingredients – but mushrooms have it all. It can take just salt and pepper. Mushrooms are a very good vegetarian option because they eat meaty, specifically red meaty. That’s why they go with pork and beef.” He singles out shiitakes: “They have a particular mouth feel, texture.”

“Use whatever you have, whatever you can find, whatever’s available,” Clyne advises and it should be noted the dish he shares contains no less than seven types of mushrooms: enoki, maitake, blue oyster, yellow oyster, lion’s mane, beech/honey and chestnut mushrooms.

While mushroom foragers feel about as willing to share their places of best pickings as do fishermen, Clyne notes this year, “some of the northern sides of Muskoka islands are seeing growths of chanterelles and white chanterelles.”

The recipe Clyne has for us now is Mushroom Brioche with Tarragon, Mushroom Garum, Quail Egg, Goat Cheese Crema and Acadian Sturgeon Caviar.

“My wife and I went to the farmer’s market – we have a tendency to buy a lot of things – and we got lots of mushrooms, more than I was intending to buy,” Clyne recalls. “This was during my wife’s transition from disliking to liking mushrooms. You could say that it was inspired by a couple of glasses of Pinot Noir. Sometimes as a chef you come up with crazy, out-there ideas.”

Culinary theory concept: “You can’t draw a straight line between two ingredients. Does caviar go with mushrooms? Not necessarily but it goes with seafood which goes with tarragon which goes with mushrooms,” Clyne explains. “The mushrooms all have their different shades, bound together by the sauce which is a combination of them all. The caviar brings in that kind of ocean brininess; the herbaciousness of the tarragon transcends the seafood and meat flavour profiles. You break the quail egg yolk and put in some caviar for another layer of richness. Goat cheese cuts that richness just a hair, giving the salivary glands a tingle. The brioche gives a textural level with its crunch.”

Final touches: garnishes of sorel from the Windermere House property and johnny jump-up flowers from Four Season Greens.

In the recipe, the truffle can overpower the mushrooms if they are not strong ones, Clyne says. “But if you’re at home making it with just creminis, feel free to throw in more.”

The lowly toadstool rules.

Humble Pie Bakery & Pizzeria Mushroom Swiss Quiche

– Michelle MacIsaac

This recipe yields three 9-inch quiches; when assembling, divide ingredients equally.

 Ingredients

Filling:

1½ tsp mustard powder

1½ tsp onion powder

30 g finely chopped leeks

1 Tbsp butter

300 g sliced button mushrooms

3 cups shredded Swiss cheese

Quiche liquid:

10 large eggs

1 L 10% cream

 Method

• Use premade 9-inch deep dish pie shells (available at Humble Pie). Preheat oven to 350° F, place shells on baking sheets and blind bake for 10-15 minutes. Let cool. In the meantime, whisk 10 eggs well, add cream and whisk again.
• Sauté mushrooms in butter over medium heat for 3-5 minutes, stirring frequently until they become soft and start to release some of their moisture. Do not overcook; they will continue to cook in the oven.
• Add ½ tsp of mustard and ½ tsp onion powder to each pre-baked pie shell. Add 1 cup shredded Swiss cheese to each shell, holding back a little; sprinkle with leeks, add mushrooms, sprinkle remaining Swiss cheese on top of mushrooms. Pour 1/3 of your quiche liquid into each shell. No need to stir.
• Bake at 350° F for 25-30 minutes or until the quiche liquid becomes firm; it should no longer jiggle in the centre.

 

Bakers Tips

• What is blind baking? In short, it is the technique of baking a pie crust by itself, generally weighted down by something else, such as another pie plate, to keep its shape. It is used for pies whose fillings require either no baking or less baking than the crust does.
• After quiches are baked, they can be frozen. Do not, however, reheat them from frozen. Place them in room temperature beforehand to thaw and then reheat.

 

 Mushroom Brioche

with Tarragon, Mushroom Garum, Quail Egg,

Goat Cheese Crema

and Acadian Sturgeon Caviar

- Aaron Clyne & Allana Klaassen

 Ingredients

1 pound mixed mushrooms, stemmed and cleaned (use your favourite mushrooms and try a variety)

10 g fresh black summer truffle, shaved, in oil (optional)

2 medium shallots, finely diced

1 Tbsp fresh tarragon, chopped

1 tsp chives, chopped (optional)

3 Tbsp Madeira wine

2+1 Tbsp neutral oil (e.g., canola, vegetable or avocado)

4 Tbsp mushroom garum

2+1 Tbsp butter

5 Tbsp veal jus

4 slices brioche, about 1” thick

4 quail eggs

1 tin Acadian Wild Sturgeon Caviar

Salt and pepper to taste

100 g goat cheese

50 mL heavy cream

Aromatic herbs and flowers for garnish (optional)

 Method

• Prepare the mushrooms: In a saucepan over medium heat, add oil and sauté shallots until soft and fragrant, about 1 minute. Add mushrooms and truffles and cook until soft; timing may vary pending mushroom varieties. You also may need to adjust the oil quantity. Add tarragon, salt and pepper and cook until fragrant. Deglaze with Madeira wine and mushroom garum, cook for 1 minute. Add veal jus and butter and heat until well incorporated. Taste and adjust seasoning accordingly. Set mix aside. (If using creminis at home, add a bit of salt)
• Toast brioche: In a new pan, melt butter and toast the sliced brioche until it is golden brown on both sides ensuring an even cook on both sides of the bread, about 1 minute per side.
• Goat cheese crema: In a bowl, using a fork, work together the goat cheese, cream and a pinch of salt until smooth and well combined (add more cream if mix is too tight and more goat cheese if too loose; it should resemble thick sour cream), transfer to a squeeze bottle.
• Quail egg: In a non-stick pan over medium heat, add remaining tablespoon of oil and fry the quail egg sunny side up, about 1-2 minutes. Try to keep the yolk runny as it adds a beautiful richness to the dish.
• Assembly: Place toasted brioche on a plate and spread on the goat cheese crema. Top with the mushroom mix, spooning out the mushrooms so as to leave the sauce in the pan. Top with the quail egg. Dot in more goat cheese crema and add a quenelle of caviar. Add a few tablespoons of pan sauce around the brioche or in a small pool next to the toast. Garnish with your favourite aromatic herbs and flowers and serve!

 Wine Pairing

Well, the obvious choice here is Pinot Noir but says Clyne, “It can lend itself to heavier reds such as Cabernet Sauvignon or Italian reds like Tuscan or Bernod.” A wimpy wine is out of the question. “This dish will overshadow any white you put next to it.” Recall him saying mushrooms eat like red meat.

 Chef's Tips

• The mushroom garum Clyne uses is made in-house at Windermere but it is also available at gourmet groceries.
• Veal jus can be substituted for mushroom stock.
• Homemade brioche is best. However, storebought will suffice. Just make sure its quality storebought brioche.

 BONUS RECIPE

How to make a steak out of a lion’s mane mushroom

• ‘‘Marinate it in your favourite marinade – oil, garlic, wine, lemon, a middle-eastern flavour, smoked paprika, whatever – as you would chicken,’’ instructs Clyne.
• In a ripping hot pan with a neutral oil, put in the mushroom and press down on it with another pan – hard – until it crisps up.
• Flip and repeat.