Glazed Maitake Mushroom with Wild Garlic Velouté, Pickled Shallot and Puffed Rice
A whole cluster of maitake roasted and glazed dark and sticky, set in a pool of vivid wild garlic velouté with pickled shallot rings, puffed rice and chopped chive.
Maitake, or hen of the woods, is a mushroom that deserves a little theatre, and this is the vegetarian starter we build around it at the Riverside. A whole roasted cluster is glazed dark and glossy, then sat in a pool of vivid green wild garlic velouté with pickled shallot, a scatter of puffed rice and chive. It is a plate that reads simple on the menu at ten pounds, yet gives you a proper run of textures: crisp edges, silky sauce, sharp pickle and that final crackle of rice.
The star here is the maitake itself, and the trick is to treat it in two stages. We roast the cluster first so the frilled edges dry out and crisp, then we finish it in a foaming pan of butter, soy and mushroom stock so it drinks up a savoury, sticky glaze. Roasting alone leaves it a little flat. Glazing alone leaves it soggy. Doing both gives you deep, roasted umami on the outside and a mushroom that still holds its shape and bite in the middle.
The one thing worth knowing is that the velouté is a make-ahead component that hates being boiled. We blend a warm, blond roux base with blanched wild garlic to set that electric green, but a hard boil afterwards will dull it to a tired khaki. Make it ahead, keep it in the fridge, and reheat it gently just to serving temperature. Wild garlic has a short season in early spring, so if it has finished, an honest swap of spinach with a clove of garlic gives you the same bright colour and much of the flavour.
Method
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1
Make the pickled shallots first so they have time to soften. Slice the shallots into thin rings and put them in a small heatproof bowl. Warm the vinegar, sugar, water and salt in a small pan, stirring, just until the sugar and salt dissolve, then pour it over the shallots. Leave to pickle for at least 30 minutes, by which point they will be pliable and pale pink. They keep happily in the fridge for several days.
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2
Now start the velouté. Melt the butter in a small pan over a medium heat, stir in the flour and cook for 1 to 2 minutes to a pale blond roux, without letting it colour. Gradually whisk in the hot vegetable stock, bring to a gentle simmer and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring, until smooth and thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Stir in the cream, season with salt and white pepper, then take it off the heat.
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3
Blanch your greens to set the colour. Bring a small pan of salted water to the boil, drop in the wild garlic for around 20 seconds until just wilted, then lift it straight into a bowl of iced water. Drain and squeeze out as much water as you can. If you are using spinach instead, blanch it the same way and add a peeled garlic clove to the water with it.
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4
Tip the warm (not boiling) velouté base and the squeezed greens into a blender and blitz for 1 to 2 minutes until vivid green and silky. Pass it through a fine sieve for a truly smooth finish, sharpen with a squeeze of lemon and check the seasoning. Set aside. When you come to serve, reheat it gently to just below a simmer, as a hard boil will dull the colour.
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5
Crisp the puffed rice. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a frying pan over a medium heat, add the puffed rice and toss for 2 to 3 minutes until golden and audibly crunchy. Drain on kitchen paper and season with a little flaky salt. Keep it somewhere dry, in an airtight container if you are working ahead, so it stays crisp.
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6
Roast the maitake. Heat the oven to 200C (180C fan, Gas 6). Trim any tough, woody base from the mushroom, then either keep four small clusters whole or break a larger cluster into four even portions, keeping the frilled shape intact so you have four starter servings. Brush all over with the 2 tablespoons of oil, season, and set cut side up on a lined tray. Roast for 15 to 18 minutes, turning once, until the frilled edges are crisp and deep golden.
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7
Glaze the mushrooms to order. Melt the 40g butter in a large frying pan over a medium high heat until foaming, then add the soy and mushroom stock and let it bubble for 2 to 3 minutes until reduced and glossy. Slide in the roasted clusters and baste and turn them for 2 to 3 minutes, until dark, lacquered and caramelised at the edges. Finish with a pinch of flaky salt.
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8
Plate up straight away. Reheat the velouté gently, then spoon a generous pool into each warm bowl and tilt to spread it. Sit a glazed maitake cluster in the centre, top with a few pickled shallot rings, then scatter over the puffed rice and chopped chives. Finish with a few dots of good oil around the sauce and serve at once, while the rice is still crisp.
Chef's tips
- The pickled shallots (up to a week ahead), the velouté (a day ahead) and the puffed rice (kept airtight) can all be made in advance, which leaves only the roasting and glazing of the mushroom to do to order. Reheat the velouté gently, never at a rolling boil, to hold its colour.
- This is a vegetarian dish but not a vegan or gluten free one as it stands. For vegan, swap the butter for a little more oil or a plant butter and use oat or soya cream. For gluten free, use tamari in place of the soy, check your puffed rice, as many puffed cereals contain barley malt, and thicken the velouté with a little cornflour slaked in cold water in place of the flour roux.
- If wild garlic is out of season, 150g of spinach blanched with a peeled garlic clove is the honest substitute and gives you the same bright green. Add the garlic sparingly, as raw wild garlic is gentler than a clove.
- If your velouté loses its vivid colour or looks tired, drop in a small handful of extra blanched spinach or wild garlic and an ice cube and blitz again briefly, which revives the green and cools it back down without cooking the colour out further.
A lightly oaked white Burgundy or cool climate Chardonnay has the weight to meet the earthy, glazed mushroom, though a chilled, lighter styled Pinot Noir loves this plate just as much.
Taste the Glazed Maitake Mushroom as we plate it.
Wild Garlic Velouté, Pickled Shallot, Puffed Rice, Chive
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