Every so often on one of our adventures, we stumble across some edible fungus. If the fungus is plentiful and we’re near the end of our hike, we’ll harvest some for a special treat. One of our favorites is the Lion’s Mane, which an example of a toothy fungus that is usually found fruiting on dying hardwood tree. We love these in soups, fried in butter, or as a substitute for seafood in a pasta or crab cake recipe.

For this simple recipe, we fried them slowly in butter, EVOO and grated ginger. If done right, they are as fine tasting and rich as lobster or scallops.

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs of lion’s mane, cleaned pressed and sliced into ¾ inch steaks
• 1 Tbs EVOO
• 2 Tbs plant butter
• 1 Tbs grated fresh ginger (1-2 inch knob)
• Sea salt to taste
• Lime wedges

Preparation:

Cut away any of the stalk (that was attached to the tree) that is dirty or too brown. Gently clean away any plant debris found among the spines, using as little water as possible. The younger and fresher the fungus, the cleaner it will be, and better-tasting. Slice the lion’s mane into ¾” steaks. This fungus contains lots of moisture, so press between paper towels for 20-30 minutes just as you would tofu.

Add the EVOO and half the plant butter to a non-stick pan and sauté the grated ginger over a medium heat for 1-2 minutes. Add the fungus steaks to the pan with good space between the pieces, without a lid or cover. The goal here is to fry them to a golden brown, letting the moisture render out and evaporate. So, adjust the temperature here so that you get a nice sizzle going, but not so hot as to burn them. After 5-10 minutes, checking underneath from time to time. Once it’s a nice golden brown, flip over and give them a light sprinkle of salt. Fry the other side the same way.

Remove the lion’s mane to a serving plate. Add the remaining plant butter to the pan and stir together with any ginger bits in the pan, then drizzle over the lion’s mane (or transfer to small dipping bowl on the side). Serve with the butter, lime wedges and additional sea salt. Enjoy!