I’ve had a very interesting week! It started when I messaged Stone Soup Farms on Instagram asking how much their organic garlic cost. The owner, Ross’ response was totally unexpected and the next thing I knew I had one kilo of garlic on my doorstep. All he wanted was for me to try it and spread the word on how amazing it was. And it is!! So… after I chatted with him on the phone I wanted to go meet him in person to learn more about garlic, and that’s how I ended up at Carp Farmers Market, which brings me to these pink oyster mushrooms (blog post to come on a recipe using that amazing Stone Purple Organic Garlic, so stay tuned!).
As I was walking the market looking for Ross’s booth, the beautiful mushrooms in the Forest Floor Mushroom stall stopped me on my tracks. I mean, they are BEAUTIFUL!! There’s something so sexy about the curves of oyster mushrooms to begin with, but the coral pink hue on these beauties is just out of this world. I just HAD to get some.
So… all the way home I was thinking of what I could make with them… it needed to be something super special that would let me showcase their beauty. Cooking them would be delicious, but the pink colour would get lost, so I decided to make an Aguachile. Aguachiles are Ceviches’ cousins… and usually they are made with raw, very fresh seafood. But you can make aguachiles with vegetables too (they’re popular with vegans for obvious reasons) as they are delicious! Oyster mushrooms are meaty, so it is usually recommended to cook them rather than eating them raw. The process of marinating them in aguachile does the same job, but they are still essentially raw.
Making an aguachile could be as simple as mixing citrus juice (usually lime) with chile and a bit of water and salt - the word itself means chile water. But I decided to go a bit greener and add cucumber, tomatillo and cilantro to my mixture. It is sooo good! A bit spicy from the jalapeño, tangy from the citrus and tomatillo, herby from the cilantro and of course, salt to balance it all. That in essence is what the Mexican palate likes. It really does make my mouth water just thinking about it. Sour, salty, spicy… it’s so GOOD!!
But getting back to the recipe - and this is full disclosure. I shot the styled plate you see here because I wanted to showcase those mushrooms, but after that, you need to really let the mushrooms sit in the aguachile for at least 30 minutes, so they get nice and soft. After that, they won’t look as pink, but they will taste amazing. To serve, add sliced cucumbers, paper thin slices of red onion, radish, tomatillo and avocado, along with a few cilantro leaves and a drizzle of your best olive oil. Serve with tortilla chips or tostadas and you will be in heaven. And it’s OK if you don’t want to share. You can thank me later.
Aguachile de Setas Rosas
Pink Oyster Mushroom Aguachile
To make Aguachile:
1/3 cup freshly squeezed lime juice
2 Tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 Lebanese cucumber, peeled and chopped
1 large tomatillo, chopped (about 1/3 cup)
1 wedge white onion (about 1 1/2 Tbsp), chopped
1 small Jalapeño or Serrano chile, chopped
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1/2-1 tsp sea salt (or to taste)
200g pink oyster mushrooms (or any mushrooms you have), pulled apart
To finish the plate:
1/4 cup thinly sliced red onion
1 Lebanese cucumber, sliced thinly
1 avocado, peeled and sliced thinly
2 radishes, thinly sliced
1 small tomatillo, thinly sliced
A drizzle of your best extra virgin olive oil
Corn chips or Tostadas
To make aguachile, place lime and lemon juices, cucumber, tomatillo, white onion, jalapeño, cilantro and salt in blender container. Blend until completely smooth.
Place mushrooms in shallow bowl and add aguachile. Mix to combine. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, but up to two hours.
When you’re ready to serve, place mushrooms along with the aguachile on large plate. Garnish with red onion, cucumber, radish, tomatillo and avocado. Finish with a drizzle of olive oil.
Serve with corn chips or tostadas.
Serves 4.