Spring has finally sprung in Toronto and our weather is finally behaving as it should; the greenery is no longer terrified to show itself and many have already begun their journey into Summer 2015 — the saucer magnolias are spectacular in the hood. The Japanese Cherry blossoms in High Park are still tucked away but a few days of warmth and sunshine should remedy that and they’ll be in full bloom in no time. We had our first drinks on the back patio on Friday and we celebrated with some tasty bites.
Now about these bites, I came upon this discovery quite by accident…I was exploring a recipe for bacon-wrapped mushrooms I saw on Greg’s lovely blog (BTW, exceptional recipe) using King mushrooms and as I was cutting into them, I couldn’t help but think they looked a lot like scallops. So a few days later, I dug out an old favourite recipe I posted in 2008, Grilled Scallop Bruschetta with Avocado Paste — The King mushrooms made a wonderful substitution for the scallops but sadly I didn’t have any of our favourite avocado paste (I freeze it in ice cube trays and then put them into plastic baggies for quick hors d’œuvres). It’s a classy hors d’œuvres for a summer cocktail party that I hope you will give a try. For a vegan version, you can omit the parmesan cheese from the pesto or serve it over the avocado paste as I had intended. The King mushrooms not only look like scallops but cooked well, they even have a lovely scallop-like texture.
King Mushroom “Scallops” on Pesto Crostinis
a Kitcheninspirations Original Recipe
Serves 2
Ingredients:
- 2 thick King Mushrooms
- 2 tbsp of your favourite sugary vinegar, or a sauce with a high percentage of sugar (for caramelization) (I used a Baco Noir & Blueberry Balsamic)
- 1 tsp canola oil (or oil with a high flash point)
- 4 thin crostini bread, your choice
- 1 tbsp pesto (please click here for recipe)
- sea salt
Directions:
- Wipe/wash the king mushrooms and dry off well. Cut into 4 thick slices. Marinate the slices in the vinegar for 5-10 minutes. Reserve marinating vinegar.
- Toast the bread on both sides and slather with 1 tsp of the pesto on each. Set aside.
- Heat a cast iron frying pan until very hot add the oil and heat up. Drop each slice of mushroom onto the hot pan and lower the temperature to medium. You want to cook the mushroom while developing a beautiful caramelization on each side.
- Add one slice of cooked mushroom to each avocado slathered crostini. Add the marinating vinegar to deglaze the pan and thicken by cooking it down (shouldn’t take long). Drizzle the pan juices onto each crostini, sprinkle with a little sea salt. Serve immediately.
King oyster mushroom/eringi is I think the mushroom I use now most often just after the humble cultivated button mushroom, but it’s definitely the mushroom I blog about most often because I find it extraordinary. Your snacks/starters looks delicious and very original. They do look as if you had put scallops there! Amazing.
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I love the variety of textures that the various mushroom bring to a recipe. The king is hearty enough to stand up in a variety of dishes, fast and slow cooking. I loved these and will be making them again. Thank you for your kind words.
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Hurray for warm weather! You guys seemed to have such an extended winter. I love the look of these scallops on mushroom and the pesto is a great idea! 😀
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Thanks Lauraine, winter does seem to nag on. Thank you for your kind words.
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I’m going to have to hunt down some King mushrooms—I love that you paired them with pesto!
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Thanks Liz, I keep ice cube-sized chunks of pesto in the freezer for last minute recipes, they come in very handy and I never worry about the expiration!
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I thought those WERE scallops when I looked at the photo. Incredible and I want one (or two or three).
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Calories wise, they are a lot lighter than the real thing and pack great flavour too. Thank you Maureen.
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I can see why they’re called scallops. They’d fool anyone at first look. Delicious looking and sounding.
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Thanks so much David. Scallops have become extremely expensive so this is a lovely alternative.
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These mushroom scallops are looking so mouthwatering!
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Thank you kindly Minnie.
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I do love mushrooms and they would be lovely with the pesto. I’m so pleased to hear that Spring has finally sprung – you certainly deserve some warm weather! xx
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Thanks Charlie, yes indeed, spring did come just in the nick of time. Thank you for your lovely comment.
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Very nice Eva, I can appreciate the creative use of these mushrooms in this.
I can also appreciate the martini glasses in the back 😋
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Yes, an old fashioned martini goes well with everything!
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If you didn’t say they were mushrooms, I wouldn’t have known. They look very tasty.
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They were deceptively delicious Angie, thank you!
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These look so so good!!!
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Thank you kindly Chef Mimi.
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Even though I love the real thing, these mushroom scallops look delicious too.
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It was a lovely diversion from the real thing, plus, the real thing is ridiculously expensive these days (a bag of flash frozen scallops at Costco used to be around $18 is now $27!!!)
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I remember buying divers’ scallops … 6 scallops cost me $12. Can’t do THAT too often. I love them though and will probably end up buying that bag of frozen scallops at FB (or was it Metro) soon after all.
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These little morsels sound quite tasty, Eva. Enjoy your springtime! xo
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Thank you Lizzy, so nice of you to say.
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