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Marinated Mushroom Tapenade + Bonus Recipe

IMG_5034Mushroom Tapenade- Admittadly, I over-processed mine a bit & recommend leaving yours a bit chunkier:-)

 

This Mushroom Tapenade, inspired from the gorgeous, (I'm not kidding, see for yourself by clicking by clicking her name) Mimi Kirk's, beautiful cookbook, Live Raw, is one easy way to get the health benefits of a-mushroom-a-day into your diet.  Or, if you're like me, you'll have a hard time eating less than half the recipe in one sitting.  Not that it would matter, as this delicious twist on the Provencal original is incredibly light as well.

 Anytime I've served this to guests as an appetizer presented with fresh vegetables, bread sticks or crackers, it's gone in the first hour.  Of course it's a wonderful snack too – and makes a delicious spread for wraps and sandwiches.

Plus there's a Bonus!  Simplifying the tapenade creates a fabulous marinated mushroom recipe, an addiction I've had since childhood when Mom made her amazing marinated mushrooms for potlucks at least once a year.  For some reason she never served them at home, and there they'd be, tempting me from the fridge as they marinated away a day prior to her event.  To this day, I still don't have Mom's recipe, but this one tastes just as I remember hers.  However, mine are ready after an hour and take less than two minutes to prep.  Jackpot!!

Please enjoy!

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Marinated Mushrooms

Mushroom Tapenade

Ingredients:

  • 2 large portobello mushrooms or 15 baby bella or white button or a combo
  • 1/2 cup walnuts
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons tamari, Bragg's or nama shoyu
  • freshly cracked black pepper

Method:

  1. Clean mushrooms with a dampened kitchen towel. Chop coarsly. Marinate with the olive oil and nama shoyu for 30 minutes turning occasionally.
  2. Pulse walnuts in food processor until broken down. 
  3. Add garlic and marinated mushrooms. Pulse until mixture is incorporated and slightly chunky mine pictured above could have been left a tad chunkier- so process yours a little less:-)
  4. Taste for seasonings and adjust to taste.

 

Marinated Mushrooms (servings: makes 15 mushrooms)

Ingredients

  • 15 baby bella or 15 white button mushrooms, wiped clean with a damp towel. Wild mushrooms are delicious too!
  • 1 clove garlic, minced or garlic powder to taste
  • 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons tamari, Bragg's, Coconut Aminos or nama shoyu
  • freshly cracked black pepper
  • a few dried red pepper flakes for an extra pop of color & spice (optional)

**For Marinated Portobello"Steaks" Use 2 Portobello Mushrooms, wiped clean, stems trimmed of soiled portions. Slice tops into nice, thick 1/2" strips, and do the same with the remainder of stem. Adjust quantities of above ingredients as needed (you may need a bit more depending on size of your portobello, they really soak up the ingredients beautifully. (Serves 2)

Method

  1. Marinate all the ingredients for an hour or up to 4 hours. 
  2. Check seasonings.
  3. Serve in a beautiful bowl with party pics alongside for picking up.

 

Do you have a favorite family recipe you'd love to recreate?

You may also enjoy: 

Cream of Mushroom Soup

or

Cheesy Gnocchi with Swiss Chard & Cannellini Beans

 

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Japanese Seaweed Salad

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Wakame, Agar, Sugnori, Tsunomata & Mafunori Seaweed freshly rehydrated

 

One of my favorite, must-order dishes whenever we eat at Japanese restaurants is seaweed salad. The exotic textures, colors and flavors are an irressitable treat for me, not to mention a bona fide cocktail of minerals & vitamins, including B12. Ocean sea vegetables are macroalgaes that possess an impressive profile of protein, minerals and trace minerals. It is said that a piece of raw, unwashed seaweed will retain every single mineral held by the ocean.  Seaweed can purify the blood because its chemical compositions are very similar to blood plasma in human beings. Not only are these gorgeous sea vegetables a powerhouse of macrobiotic nutrition, they're anti-inflammatory and possess cholesterol lowering, anti-cancer & anti-viral properties as well… oh, they also make your hair lustrous & healthy too!

 You can imagine my excitement when I realized I could make this beautiful salad at home. It's a delicious, light summer meal which takes only minutes to assemble. I often use SeaSnax SeaVegi seaweed salad mix, by a great company with strict sourcing from only the purest ocean waters.

Please enjoy this magical and exotic salad!

Japanese Seaweed Salad

Makes 4 side course servings or 2 main course servings if you're like Jim and me:-)

Ingredients:

  • 1 oz package dehydrated Seaweed Salad Mix (or equivalent of mixed seaweeds such as Wakame, Agar, Sugnori, Tsunomata & Mafunori Seaweed)
  • 1 fuji apple, thinly sliced
  • 1/4 red onion thinly slivered 
  • 2 tbsp rice vinegar
  • 2 tbsp tamari
  • 1 tbsp sesame oil
  • 1 tsp minced ginger
  • 1 tsp minced garlic
  • 1 tsp raw honey or agave

Method: 

  1. Place seaweed in a large bowl and cover with cold, filtered water. Set aside to rehydrate for 7 minutes, then drain into a collander.
  2. While the seaweed is rehydrating, assemble the dressing by whisking together the vinegar, tamari, sesame oil and honey. Stir in the minced ginger and garlic.  
  3. Lastly place the rehydrated seaweed, sliced apple, sliced onion in a large serving bowl and toss with the dressing until coated.
  4. Serve with chopsticks and enjoy!

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Japanese Seaweed Salad

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