Today I had the time to work on a simple mushroom dish. We found some more giant king trumpet mushrooms and I was able to work on roasting it whole. I scored the mushroom and then started cooking it in a blend of salted butter and olive oil. Once the mushroom started to tenderize, I seasoned it with some sea salt and then added branches of tea tree to the pan to infuse the mushroom. As the mushroom continued to cook, I deglazed the pan with some white wine and then water so that it would cook through and not burn. The deglazing also allowed the mushroom fond to be turned into juices with which I could baste the mushroom. Finally, I let the mushroom rest with some fresh tea tree branches set on top to add a further
infusion of aroma.
I then sliced the meaty mushroom and seasoned it with lime zest and fleur de sel. We paired it with a sauce of watercress enriched with several drops of Argan oil. The mushroom cooked like this could be served with a variety of condiments and garnishes. It was great just to watch it transform during the cooking. process.