I still remember my first taste of Mushroom, way back in 1982-83 when my dad was posted in Ranchi (Jharkhand now). It being a hilly area and red soil, my grandmother used to dig out the wild mushrooms and prepare a superb dish.The strong earthy taste and initial strengthening of flavor and I would watch it being cooked – dry at first and with all the water bound up inside and later it quickly releases lot of water, and with it, those flavors. Life changed, I changed places and yet my love for mushroom continues. Here in Delhi I don’t miss a chance to buy mushrooms whenever I locate it. I typically buy button mushrooms as they are easily available everywhere. Other kind of mushrooms like shiitake, morels and oysters are also available in supermarkets and are expensive. My wife loves experimenting with exotics and keeps rediscovering the versatility of buttons.Mushrooms have nutritional benefits too, apart from being delicious. This link talks about nutritional benefits of mushrooms. Mushrooms are rich in glutamate and I love the combination of it with steak.
I attended food promotion at all The One,all day dining of Le Meridian and their Executive Chef Karan Mehta shared his idea about doing food promotions around ingredients rather than focusing on different cuisines. He stated that food promotion based on ingredients rather than on cuisines, gives more space for creativity and imagination. This churns up interesting dishes that guests would love and appreciate. I agree to this idea and personally feel that ingredient based food promotions are much better and more creative than cuisine based promotions.
Mushroom was the key ingredient here. The classic mushroom cappuccino was thick and had tinge of truffle oil - excellent in taste. Trio of Mushroom Parfait and Pickled Mushrooms was dish of the day. Kaffir lime scented sea bass with mushroom foam stole my heart - perfectly cooked and exceptionally well flavored. Mushroom quesadillas and five way mushroom lasagna was spot on. Lot of chit chats with fellow bloggers and with Anasuya Asu, director communication, we finished our meal with sugarless desert. (Sugarless Dessert - Another interesting story that I will share later! J
