PORTABELLA MUSHROOM CARPACCIO
Buon Giorno!
Seeing as how it’s Thursday, I’ve been thinkin’ about how I might participate in the latest Facebook phenomenon of “Throwback Thursday.” So, don’t ask me why, but I got to thinkin’ about when my oldest son Nathan was a little boy and we owned a home in Italy.
Our house was located in the beautiful Apennines Mountains of Northern Italy, in the Ligurian town of Sassello. This region is famous for the production of the delicious almond flavored Amaretto Liqueur as well as Amaretti Cookies.
But Sassello is also known to Italians as one of the regions where wild mushrooms can be foraged. In the fall, when mushroom season is in full swing, Italians descend on this area in search of the elusive wild mushrooms. In fact, it is such a popular pastime that they cause major traffic jams along the winding mountain roads. We were fortunate, as wild mushrooms could often be found at the base of pine trees that grew near our property. And you could also find me under the pine trees, wearing 80’s style baggy pants and shoulder pads. YIKES!!
Anyway, Nathan and his cousin, Alessandro, and I often went in search of these wild, delectable delicacies.
I was always a bit apprehensive about which mushrooms were safe to eat and which ones would kill you. But Alessandro was well trained in such matters and helped us to gather many wonderful Porcini and other delicious mushrooms.
Our bounty of earthy, rich and nutty flavored fungi would go into the making of delicious pastas and risottos.
They were simply out of this world wonderful!
But these days the only way I can get mushrooms from Sassello is in the dried form, as my days of living in Italy are a thing of the past.
Now the closest I can come to the wild fungi of Italy is to purchase the farm-grown Portabella Mushroom Caps they sell in my local grocery store. They are a far cry from the forest-foraged-fungi I remember from Italy, but they will just have to do. So, when I get a hankering for mushrooms, I often prepare them as a Carpaccio. Carpaccio is the term usually used to describe a dish of thinly sliced raw meat, but now it is also appropriate to use the word Carpaccio when referencing thinly sliced raw vegetables or fish as well. So, here’s what I do to prepare my Portabella Mushroom Carpaccio. I pick up a 6 oz. package of Portabella mushroom caps……
and I use a very sharp knife to slice them very thin and arrange them on a plate.
Next, I dice up a couple of scallions……
and sprinkle them on the mushrooms.
I then squeeze on a little fresh lemon juice……
some extra virgin olive oil, and some fresh ground pepper.
When I prepare a fresh dish like this, where you can really taste the flavor of the salt, I pull out my box of assorted gourmet salts. This comes from a store in Georgetown, Washington, DC called The Spice and Tea Exchange.
Today I selected the Murray River Salt Flakes to enhance the flavor of my mushroom carpaccio.
The final ingredient is a dusting of freshly shaved Parmigiano Reggiano cheese.
All that is left to do is to eat it all up, which frankly I can do all by myself.
Buon Appetito! And Happy Throwback Thursday!
- 1 6 Oz. Package of Portabella Mushroom Caps
- 1 Tablespoon Fresh Lemon Juice
- 2 Scallions, Diced
- 3 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 1 Ounce Parmigiano Reggiano Cheese, Shaved
- Freshly Ground Pepper and Salt to taste
- Slice the mushrooms very thin using a sharp knife.
- Arrange the mushroom slices decoratively on a plate.
- Sprinkle on diced scallions.
- Squeeze on a tablespoon or so of fresh lemon juice.
- Drizzle on Extra Virgin Olive Oil.
- Add freshly ground pepper and salt to taste.
- Finish with a dusting of shaved Parmigiano Reggiano.
- ENJOY!
So there you have it: PORTABELLA MUSHROOM CARPACCIO
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