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mushroom umami bomb
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Savory Mushroom “Umami Bomb"

This recipe combines numerous sources of umami to create a true umami explosion. Serve it along with eggs or your favorite protein.
Course Side Dish
Cuisine American
Author Chef Chris Koetke

Ingredients

  • 1.5 oz. 42 g dried shiitake mushroom caps, soaked in warm water until soft
  • 1 lb. 450 g assorted mushrooms*, cut in a small dice
  • 3 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • ½ cup 70 g finely minced onion
  • 1/3 cup 35 g finely minced celery
  • 1 large clove 10 g minced garlic
  • ¾ cup 110 g. dry-cured pepperoni or spicy soppressata, cut into small dice
  • 4 cups beef broth boiled until reduced to 2 cups
  • 1 Tablespoon sundried tomato paste
  • ½ teaspoon MSG

Instructions

  1. Remove the stems from the shiitake mushrooms and discard them. Cut the shiitake caps into a small dice and reserve. (The final weight of the trimmed shiitake caps after being reconstituted should be around 115 g.)
  2. In a large sauté pan, sauté assorted mushrooms in 2 Tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil. (It may be necessary to sauté them in 2 batches so that they brown nicely.) Remove from the sauté pan when well browned and cooked through. Reserve.
  3. In the same sauté pan, sauté onion and celery in remaining 1 Tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil.
  4. When the onions and celery are soft and lightly browned, add garlic. Cook for 2 more minutes.
  5. Add pepperoni or soppressata, diced shiitake caps, sautéed assorted mushrooms, reduced broth, sundried tomato paste, and MSG. Cook over moderate heat until the broth has reduced most of the way.
  6. Taste for additional salt and black pepper as needed.

Recipe Notes

*Having a nice assortment of mushrooms creates a more interesting flavor profile and appearance as well.

 

Recipe photo courtesy of Flickr user: Boo Lee