It isn’t just about how mushrooms are grown that makes me love so much about them. Its their sizes, shapes and how they taste so great when combined with other food. It’s amazing how fungus can taste so delicious. When I was 8, my grandparents had a haystack in their backyard and during the wet season then (in Cambodia) it rained everyday or most days of the week. There’s a type of mushroom that is commonly used in Cambodian cooking and sold in the market that are grown from haystacks, when they started appearing in the backyard I used to sit there and stare at them in case they might grow bigger as I stared. I checked them everyday and within 3-4 days they grew into really good size, I was amazed at how nature worked.
Mum is a great cook and she often figured out and learned new dishes from places solely through her keen instincts and past experience. This side dish was taught to her by her Italian friend back when I was about 13/14. Mum has always told me to watch her in the kitchen and from that I learned a lot from her. This recipe wasn’t officially taught to me, when my mum’s friend taught her to make this dish I was around all the time and have always been around when she made it later on. I love this dish and from watching her make it so many times I learned to make by heart.
They used the haystack mushrooms (sorry, I can’t seem to find name of that type of mushroom anywhere) in this dish because it was the best choice in Cambodia, but since we don’t have that type of mushroom here in Australia I use button mushrooms. The finished dish looks and tastes the same as when using the mushrooms grown in Cambodia. The dish has a sharp flavour from the combination of basil, parmesan and lime juice mixed with the mushrooms flavour. It’s very unique and easy to make.
ITALIAN PARMESAN MUSHROOMS
Prep-Time: 7 mins Serve: 4
Cooking Time: 10 mins
Ingredients
500g button mushrooms, thinly sliced
1/2 cup chopped sweet basil
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1/2 lime juice
Salt and pepper to taste
4 tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic, mince
Method
Heat the oil in a large frying pan over medium high heat. Add in the mushrooms once the oil is heated, constantly stir the mushrooms to allow them to cook evenly for 5 minutes or until all of the mushrooms are cooked through.
Toss in the chopped garlic and then stir for 1 minute to cook the garlic. Remove from heat and then add in the basil, Parmesan cheese, lime juice, salt and pepper to taste. Now stir the ingredients together until well mixed.
The flavour of the dish should be a tiny bit salty and have a hint of sourness. When eaten you should taste the combination of flavours from the basil, garlic, lime juice and Parmesan together wrapped around the mushroom flavour. The dish is served as a side dish.