About Food – Wild Oyster Mushrooms with Walnuts and Spices
Wild Oyster mushrooms are called ‘Kalmakha’ in Georgia and grow on the bark of trees. They look, smell and taste like oysters and are a popular appetizer in Georgia. In this recipe we show how to prepare wild oyster mushrooms with walnuts and spices.
Ingredients: 1 kilo of wild oyster mushrooms, 200 grams of walnuts (or hazelnuts), 10 grams of fresh parsley, 1 medium sized onion, 1 tsp of dries coriander, 1 tsp of blue fenugreek, 1 tbs of dried coarse hot red pepper, 3 cloves of garlic, 5 tbs of white wine vinegar, 1 tbs of oil, salt (quantity dependent upon personal preference) and lettuce leaves (for garnish).
Preparation: Wash the mushrooms and pull apart with your fingers. Add the mushrooms to a pot of boiling salted water and cook on a medium heat for 45 minutes.
Whilst the mushrooms are cooking, crush the garlic and walnuts together (we used a meat grinder). Chop the parsley and onions. Add the crushed garlic and walnuts, chopped parsley, onions and spices to a mixing bowl.
Add the white wine vinegar and 1 tbs of oil and gently mix.
When the mushrooms are cooked, drain the water with a sieve.
Chop the cooked mushrooms into small, thin pieces and add to the mixing bowl containing the other ingredients. Mix carefully.
Serving: Serve cold. We served ours on a bed of lettuce.
Enjoy your Wild Oyster mushrooms with nuts and spices!
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A normal for clam mushrooms is that they have a flighty (off kilter) stem or once in a while, even no stem at all and are likely the most perishable of mushrooms. They should be kept in the vicinity of 1 and 4 degrees C.