Pearl Oyster Mushrooms: Simple, Healthy, Delicious

Going to try growing the Oyster mushrooms from BTTRventures? Once you do, you can use these recipes from the company. They taste absolutely fantastic.

GOOD NEWS!

Oyster mushrooms are: low in sodium and very low in saturated fat and cholesterol. They’re also a good source of protein, Thiamin, Vitamin B6, Folate, Iron, Magnesium, Zinc and Manganese, and a great source of Dietary Fiber, Riboflavin, Niacin, Pantothenic Acid, Phosphorus, Potassium and Copper.

BTTR Holiday Crostini

This colorful and festive crostini works great as an appetizer or side dish for any holiday feast! (Yields 4 servings)

• ¼ cup + 2 tablespoons Sigona’s Fresh Press EVOO
• 1 yellow onion, thinly sliced
• 1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
• 5 oz. homegrown BTTR Pearl Oyster Mushrooms, left whole or sliced ¼ cup chopped
• fresh basil
• sea salt and freshly ground pepper
• ½ French baguette, sliced (1/4 inch thick)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 400.
2. In a large skillet, heat ¼ cup olive oil over medium heat with onions and ¼ teaspoon salt. Sauté until transparent and lightly browned.
3. Add bell pepper, lower heat, and cover for 5 minutes so that the bell peppers wilt and release moisture. Remove cover and continue cooking on low heat for another 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
4. Add oyster mushrooms and adjust to medium/high heat. Sauté for 5 more minutes, or until mush-rooms are soft and browned. Add more salt and pepper to taste.
5. Brush baguette slices with the remaining 2 table-spoons of olive oil and bake in oven for 5 minutes, or until desired toastiness.
6. Top each baguette slice with the pepper/onion sauté and garnish with fresh basil.

BTTR Oyster Mushroom Fettuccini with Arugula & Sun-dried Tomatoes

This Italian pasta is elegant in its simplicity, making it perfect for your next dinner party! (Yields 4 servings)

• 1 pound fettuccini pasta
• ¼ cup Sigona’s Fresh Press olive oil plus 2 tablespoons EVOO
• 6 ounces BTTR Oyster Mushrooms (about 2 ½ cups), ends trimmed & coarsely chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• ¼ cup white wine (use Marsala Wine for a sweeter flavor)
• 1/3 cup sun-dried tomatoes
• 1 bag arugula (6 ounces)
• salt and freshly ground black pepper

DIRECTIONS:

1. Cook pasta according to package directions and toss with ¼ cup of olive oil.
2. Saute mushrooms with a pinch of salt in medium pan over medium heat until slightly browned (about 10 minutes).
3. Add garlic and white wine and simmer until liquid evaporates (about 2 minutes).
4. Toss sautéed mushrooms, sun dried tomatoes, and arugula with hot pasta until arugula has fully wilted. Add salt and pepper to taste.

BTTR Hot and Crusty Casserole

Stay warm this winter with our healthy gourmet version of holiday comfort food. This recipe pairs our juicy oyster mushrooms with creamy steamy pasta all submerged under a crusty baked surface. (Yields 4 servings )

• 1 pound pipe rigate pasta (you can also use shells, rigatoni, or any short cut pasta shape)
• 1 cup minced onion (1 small onion)
• ¼ cup Sigona’s Fresh Press EVOO
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 3 cups almond or dairy milk
• 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
• 5 ounces BTTR Oyster Mushrooms, left whole or sliced
• 1 bag organic frozen peas
• ½ cup bread crumbs
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Oil a large casserole dish or baking pan – approximately 13×9-inch.
2. Boil the pasta in salted water per package instructions.
3. In the meantime, sauté onion in 2 tablespoons olive oil with 1 teaspoon of salt over medium heat until completely soft, stirring frequently to avoid browning. Add garlic and cook a few minutes longer.
4. In a blender, combine the onion/garlic mixture, milk, and nutritional yeast. Process until very smooth, adding salt and pepper to taste.
5. Sauté mushrooms in 2 tablespoons olive oil and pinch of salt over medium/high heat until soft and browned.
6. Toss pasta with the cream sauce, mushrooms, and peas and pour into casserole dish. Top with breadcrumbs and bake for 25 minutes, or until desired crustiness on top.

A little more about Oyster mushrooms…

When picking out oyster mushrooms look for firm resilient mushrooms with no cracking on the top end. This tells us the mushrooms are just picked.

I like oyster mushrooms because of their great texture and ease to prepare. Their taste is wonderful in stir-fries and with fish, meats or just by themselves. Delicious oyster mushrooms a great addition to any dish!

As with most mushrooms these will absorb the juices and liquids of what is in the skillet. I use a large skillet on medium-high to high heat. This allows all the mushrooms to come in contact with the skillet to make them more flavorful.

Next, I’ll explain a bit about deglazing with white wine, sherry, brandy or any alcohol you choose to experiment with, to add flavor to your mushrooms or sauce. Oysters by themselves are a great source of flavor and can stand alone as an accompaniment to any dish. They are great added to a whole grain or pasta dish.

Recipe ingredients

• 1 lb. oyster mushrooms
• ½ c white wine
• 11/2 TBL EVOO
• 1 tsp Butter
• ½ small onion or several shallots
• Salt and pepper

COOKING AND DEGLAZING: I like to season and sauté a bit of onion or shallot in olive oil first until slightly done. I add a bit of butter (butter and mushrooms just seem to add an explosion of flavor) to the skillet and the oyster mushrooms, season slightly. Again I keep my skillet on high or medium high.

I let the mushrooms cook down; they will absorb the flavors of the onions, butter and olive oil. Once the natural juice of the mushrooms is reabsorbed, remove them from the skillet. Add ½ cup of white wine, reduce by half. Return the mushrooms and onion mixture to the skillet. Work the mixture for about 2-3 minutes.

The mushrooms will have sucked up the wonderful flavors of the white wine, onions and their own juices.

If you were cooking a chicken or beef dish, cook the meat first. Remove the meat from the skillet to rest while you are preparing your mushroom dish.

If you are cooking on a high flame you will have the juices from the meat caramelized and the pan needs to be deglazed for the making for a great sauce and or addition for your mushrooms.

TIP: For beef, try using a brandy. For chicken, try sherry. Follow the same process as described above with the white wine.