There are literally thousands of different types of mushrooms, those that end up on our dinner tables, are the same 8 or 9 common kinds: Enoki, Shitaki, Button, Brown, Oyster, Lobster, Straw, Portobello and Crimini. Some are farmed, some are wild; mushroom lovers will find a good variety of them flirting around in the Farmers Market. Come autumn, a walk in the forest may be a productive one, as long as you know about mushrooms and very sure of those you pick are edible ones.
Portobello mushroom, the largest edible mushroom that often used to replace ‘meat patties’ in vegan burgers; however, is not as commonly used as its kin, quite possibly, because of intimidating size.
I recently had an intriguing Portobello mushroom dinner at Stonegrill by the south water off Granville Street. It was the simplest, healthiest and most wholesome way to cook Portobello – on a piece of hot stone plate (400F). No oil, no seasoning, just a sprinkle of sea-salt on the stone, the natural earthy sweet taste of the meat was so tender, I did not want to stop. Apparently, this Stone-grilled Portobello is one of the most popular dishes there and a lot of customers order it as an appetizer.
This summer, try barbequing this giant mushroom. Place the whole thing onto the grill or foil-wrap them first and grill it so the aromatic juice can be savoured too.
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