Witchy Kitchen

Tag: mushrooms

  • Orc Rock Mushroom Soup with Corn and Coconut Cream

    Better late than never for #BattleChefBuffet, Fandom Foodies theme of the (last) month, hosted by the awesome Victoria at Pixelated Provisions – that’s right it’s Battle Chef Brigade!

    I haven’t gotten a chance to play the Trinket Studio developed/Adult Swim published game yet, although the kids got a Switch for Christmas so we plan to in the near future – just as soon as our Zelda: Breath of the Wild obsession quells! However, the game looks delightful and innovative and full of intriguing dishes…and…oh, what’s this???

    Onion Chopping Ninja Chef has challenged me to a Quarry Cap cook off! Orc smash!! Weird orc horn!! Pew pew pew pew!!

    We both received pics of the dishes; she made Mina (the human’s) Quarry Cap dish, which you can find on her site – and full disclosure, it looks delicious and I fully plan on trying her recipe with the leftover wood ear mushrooms I have from my dish.

    Her choice to use wood ear mushrooms (or, as I got mine at the Korean market, they are labeled somewhat less charmingly as “black fungus”) was a smart choice to acheive the striking color of the dish, so I decided to use them in mine as well. My dish is Thrash (the orc’s) Quarry Cap soup. I regularly make a sherried cream of mushroom soup, Western style, but decided to try the same dish with a more Asian profile, and was happy with the kickass punch-you-in-the-mouth result!

    Orc Rock Mushroom Soup with Corn and Coconut Cream

    For the mushroom soup

    • x ounces dried wood ear mushrooms
    • 4 ounces fresh button mushrooms, sliced
    • 4 ounces fresh shiitake mushrooms, sliced
    • Vegetable oil
    • 1 small bunch green onions, whites and greens divided, sliced
    • 3 garlic cloves, grated
    • 1 inch ginger, grated
    • 1/2 teaspoon white pepper
    • 1 tablespoon soy sauce
    • 1/4 cup shaoxing wine (substitute dry sherry or white wine)
    • 4 cups vegetable broth
    • Salt to taste

    To rehydrate the wood ear mushrooms, pour a cup of boiling water over them and let them steep for at least 30 minutes.

    Meanwhile, heat a tablespoon or two of vegetable oil in a wok, and stir fry mushrooms until they release their water and start to color. Add the whites of the green onions, garlic and ginger, and cook, stirring, for a minute or two. Add white pepper and soy sauce and shoaxing wine and cook, stirring, until almost dry. Add vegetable broth.

    Drain and slice wood ear mushrooms (reserving some for garnish, optional), and add to the wok. Simmer for 30 minutes. Puree in a blender and return to the hot pot to heat through. Check for seasoning and add more salt if necessary.

    For the corn and coconut cream

    • 1 can coconut milk
    • 2 ears white corn (reserve some kernels for garnish)
    • Pinch salt

    In a small sauce pan, heat coconut milk and add ears of corn. Simmer for 30 minutes. Remove ears, slice of kernels and place in a blender with the coconut milk. Puree and return to the pot to heat through.

    To serve, pour soup into bowls and drizzle with a generous swirl of the coconut corn cream. Garnish with mushrooms, corn kernels, and reserved green onion.

    Check out #BattleChefBuffet or the Battle Chef linkup at Pixelated Provisions for everyone’s amazing dishes!

  • Mushroom Potato Scotch Eggs | David the Gnome

    Mushroom Potato Scotch Eggs | David the Gnome

    I loved David the Gnome when I was a kid; fantastic creatures in general interested me, but gnomes in particular seemed so sweet and cozy. Affectionate, nice to animals, and with the cutest little houses; I was obsessed with their pretty Nordic carvings and their little beds built straight into the wall.

    mushroom-potato-scotch-eggs-david-the-gnome

    I had all but forgotten the show (based on a book I am now interested to read) until Diana from Fiction-Food Café and Catherine from The Gluttonous Geek started talking about it on Twitter, inspiring a watch-and-cook from all of us!

    Rewatching the show was like snuggling up in a warm blanket of nostalgia. It is exposition heavy in the most charming way: each episode starts with a snippet about the lives of gnomes – the clothes they wear, their houses, and of course the food they eat. Gnomes are very kind, and very environmentally conscious, so all their food is plant-based or else gifted by their animal friends.

    I think we all chose to use mushrooms, which seemed natural as they are forageable in the forest and form magical fairy rings. Mine I used to make scotch eggs – vegetarian of course! In the very first episode the gnomes eat skylark eggs (having no skylark eggs available I used completely mundane chicken eggs) and David, a doctor, helps an ailing goat, so I thought it might be reasonable he was repaid in goat cheese. I also have it on good authority that gnomes are partial to root vegetables, so potato seemed like a good ingredient to tie it all together.

    Mushroom Potato Scotch Eggs

    • 8 hardboiled eggs, peeled
    • 1 large russet potato, peeled and medium diced
    • 6 ounces goat cheese
    • olive oil & butter
    • 1 medium shallot, diced
    • 3 cloves garlic, grated
    • 11-12 ounces mushrooms (I used 8 ounces cremini and 3.2 ounces fresh shitake), finely chopped
    • 1 teaspoon Herbs de Provence (or a mix of herbs such as thyme, basil, or parsley)
    • salt & pepper
    • 1/2 cup flour
    • 1 egg, beaten
    • breadcrumbs (optional, I did some with, some without. I seasoned the breadcrumbs with a little salt and fresh thyme)
    • oil to fry

    Put potato in a small saucepan, just cover with water and a good pinch of salt, and bring to a boil. Boil until the potato is very soft, then drain and mix with goat cheese and a tablespoon of butter.

    On medium-high heat, warm a tablespoon of olive oil and a tablespoon (or two) butter. Cook shallot and garlic until shallot just starts to turn golden, then add the mushrooms and herbs. Cook, stirring, until mushrooms have released their water and the mixture is mostly dry. Stir into the potato mixture, season to taste, and allow to cool to room temperature.

    On medium to medium high, heat 3/4 inch of oil in a frying pan. Take a palm-sized portions of the potato mixture and form it around each of the eggs (it should be malleable and spread easily). In batches of two, roll each egg in the flour, dusting off any excess, then dip in the egg and coat with breadcrumbs if using. Fry, rolling gently, until they are golden all over, and remove to a paper towel-lined plate. (Any leftover potato mixture you can just form into little disks and fry on each side until golden).

    Serve on a bed of greens or asparagus.

    For more David the Gnome recipes, visit:

    And if you’re inspired to revisit your childhood, the entire series is on YouTube.