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Puffball slices with sour-cream and garlic sauce
Many years ago I found my first giant puffball mushrooms under some oak trees
on the edge of a golf course in Scotland. I was cycling along a track which
ran along a wooded river and I had my small rucksack for collecting berries,
herbs and mushrooms. I spotted the puffballs from a distance, they were so big.
I think there were five or six of them altogether. Luckily, I always carried
a plastic bag in my rucksack and I was able to collect all the puffballs to
take home, although I had to hang two of them from my handlebars. At home I
washed and dried the fungi then took two to my friend Martin who was also a
keen mushroom collector. He was extremely pleased and showed me how to peel
and slice the puffballs and then fry them in a little oil. He served them on
toasted bread and if you have a large puffball (or a few smaller ones) I'd recommend
this for a tasty breakfast. Years later I came across the biggest puffballs
I'd ever seen in a bazaar in Kazakhstan and remembered Martin's recipe. I thought
I might elaborate on it by making a creamy sauce to go over the fried mushroom
slices and what I managed to produce was a very fine accompaniment indeed.
A few days after I gave Martin the puffballs, he offered to take me to a secret
place where he knew puffballs grew every year. It turned out to be the same
place where I had found them by accident.
Ingredients
500-600g of puffball
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped
A few crushed black peppercorns
200-250g of sour cream (or yoghurt)
A pinch of dried thyme
A quarter teaspoon of sweet paprika
Salt
Olive oil
A small knob of butter or margarine
Peel the tough outer skin from the puffball and if it's a really big one,
cut it in half or even quarters. Slice into pieces one-and a half to two centimetres
thick and fry on a medium heat in a very little oil. Sprinkle just a tiny bit
of salt over the pieces. Three or four minutescooking on each side should see
the slices beginning to turn golden. Repeat this procedure until you've fried
all the slices. Stack the cooked slices up in a pile to keep them warm while
the others are still frying.
While you're frying the puffball, mix the paprika and a little salt into the
sour cream and leave it to stand. When all the slices are done, add the butter
or margerine to the pan and when it has melted, fry the garlic gently until
it begins to turn transparent, but not enough to brown it. Turn of the heat,
stir in the pepper and thyme and then the sour cream.
Arrange the puffball slices on a serving plate and pour over the sauce.
Serve with boiled new potatoes or rice
and a salad.