Another hike, another awesome mushroom find! This time, some Lion’s Mane growing on the side of a downed tree caught my wife’s eye. We harvested it, and then, as we continued on our hike, we pondered ways to cook it. Knowing it has a mild taste and a soft texture from our previous Lion’s Mane adventures, we decided to try coating it before pan frying to deliver a nice bit of crispness to each bite. Rather than bread crumbs (our normal go-to), we opted to use almond flour for this one to pull out some seafoody notes from our mushroom…and it worked well! We picked a simple yogurt ranch dipping sauce due to timing, but there are so many other sauces that would work well too (see some suggestions below in the ingredients list)!
Since Lion’s Mane isn’t as abundant as some other wild mushrooms (at least we have a harder time finding a substantial quantity of it) this would be great as an hors d’oeuvre…but if you have enough, this would be a great vegetarian alternative to chicken nuggets as an entree.
*This website can’t be used to identify wild mushrooms or ingredients. Do your own independent research, and consume wild mushrooms or ingredients at your own risk.
Time: 15 Minutes
Ingredients:
- Lion’s Mane Mushroom
- Almond Flour
- Egg
- Dipping Sauce of your Choice. Some good options are:
- Remoulade
- Ranch Dressing (We used Yogurt Ranch)
- BBQ Sauce
- Cocktail Sauce (just mix Ketchup and Horseradish)
- Sweet and Sour Sauce
Method:
- Wash your mushroom, and cut it into cross-sections.
- Crack an egg into a bowl, and beat it with a fork.
- Pour some almond flour into another bowl.
- Heat some oil in a heavy bottomed (Cast Iron!!!) pan.
- As your oil heats, coat each piece of mushroom in your egg, and then toss it in your almond flour until it’s completely enveloped in the flour.
- Carefully, place each “breaded” mushroom piece into your oil, and cook for about 3 minutes per side until crispy and golden brown.
- Plate, devour, and enjoy!
