This is the second article in a series of interviews and conversations between North Spore co-founder, Matt McInnis, and cookbook author and wild foods expert, Hank Shaw. Hank is the James Beard Award winning author of multiple cookbooks and the proprietor and writer for the food website, Hunt Gather Cook. In this article, we’re diving into the unique culinary tradition of combining seafood (or lake/river food for you inland anglers and ice fisherman) with foraged or cultivated mushrooms.
At first thought, something feels unpalatable about combining mushrooms with seafood. My mind jumps to gonzo made-up dishes like portobello and tuna fish sliders or fishsticks and stinkhorns. There is something about combining fish with mushrooms that instinctually feels wrong. Luckily for me, I had the privilege of again chatting with Hank Shaw and was quickly reminded of the many ways mushrooms and fish play off each other with their abundant textures and flavors.
When Hank Shaw thinks about pairing fish and mushrooms, he’s reminded of the concept of monti e mari, translated to "Mountains and Sea" in Italian. Monti e mari encapsulates a culinary philosophy that marries the fresh, earthy flavors of mountainous or inland regions with the briny, delicate textures of seafood. The concept isn’t unique to Italian cuisine; various cultures around the world have their own interpretations of combining land and sea elements in their dishes. A quick mental scan of the world’s cuisines reveals a universal admiration for this classic duo: from Japanese chawanmushi that combines fishcake, crab, or sea urchin with the earthiness of shiitake or enoki mushrooms to ceviche de trucha made in the Peruvian Andes with its bright citrus marinated river trout and earthy notes of sweet potato. Crab and shrimp are expertly paired with duck or pork in the various Creole preparations of gumbo and jambalaya. Even the United States’s own culinary king of kitsch, surf and turf, is a garish 1920s take on monti e mari with its opulent combo of steak and lobster.
Matt: Hank, thanks again for taking the time to speak with me. When we were first exploring the theme of this article you brought up the concept of monti e mari. How does the earth and sea dichotomy influence your recipe development or thoughts around combining mushrooms and seafood?
"Sierra Spring" trout with porcinis and morels
Photo by Holly A. Heyser
Hank: Mushrooms often but not always serve as an earthy bass note in a fish or seafood dish. Morels and trout are a good example. But sometimes the mushroom itself is light enough to sing a duet with the fish, like in fried walleye with chanterelle sauce. Chanterelles are light and bright, as are lion's mane and bear tooth mushrooms. And there are some unusual mushrooms, like edible amanitas and pine spike mushrooms, that really mesh well.
But in general, the mushrooms ground a fish or seafood dish, especially in winter.
Matt: I find that mushrooms and seafood suffer from the preconception of being homogeneous in both flavor and texture. I feel like no two food groups are as likely to be maligned in broad swaths; I’ve heard people utter “I hate fish” or “I hate mushrooms” more than any other food groups. In reality both are some of the most varied and nuanced families of ingredients available to cooks. The crab-like texture and mildness of lion's mane sharply contrasts with the snappiness of lobster mushrooms just like the flakey delicateness of sole is radically different from octopus or raw oysters. What are your suggestions for people averse to either fish or mushrooms and what recipes are tried and true for converting the skeptical?
Chanterelle sauce over Walleye (also known as Yellow Pike)
Hank: Well, that's a huge question, but I'd say the easiest answer is to go the crispy route. Everyone loves crispy. Not necessarily both -- although tempura mushrooms and shrimp are a classic -- but one crispy, the other maybe sauteed. A simple duxelles of button mushrooms over floured and fried sole, or alongside grilled mackerel, is a fantastic option. Acidity marries them, so in these cases have plenty of lemon handy.
Matt: Large swaths of both the mushroom and seafood world are ephemeral seasonal ingredients. Fresh matsutake is foraged in the fall while morels are an early spring ingredient. How does this seasonality affect your recipe development or what types of fish/mushroom meals you’re cooking?
Hank: They go together. So morels and trout is a classic, as is a dashi-based broth with matsutake. This isn't a hard and fast rule, but it helps. Often I'll go fishing somewhere one day, and mushrooming another. So you end up with these ingredients in the kitchen at the same time. Creativity ensues.
I made a cool dish of King and King once: king salmon and king boletes. Both grilled, with a fresh, bright herbal gremolata to bind them. Buttered and grilled bread served as the backbone. Ultra simple, but so good!
Matt: Let’s flip that last question on its head. There are plenty of mushroom species that can be cultivated year round indoors. Lion’s mane and the various oyster mushroom species are examples of this, and some species of fish or seafood are available throughout the year such as shellfish and preserved or canned fish. What recipes, if any, do you find yourself returning to throughout the year?
Hank: Simple button mushrooms and shiitakes are workhorses, so they show up all year long in my cooking. I do have one esoteric recipe I love dearly though that uses oyster mushrooms. It's called Oyster! Oyster! Oyster! It's served in a large oyster shell. In the shell are sauteed oyster mushrooms that have a bit of oyster sauce in them. Over that is a croquette of oyster plant, salsify, and I top it with a soy and rice vinegar dressed smoked oyster. It is really, really good.
Matt: I love that concept. Funny how many fish and mushrooms share common names. Speaking of which, one that I often reach for when considering a mushroom for a seafood dish is the wild lobster mushroom. I’m curious to get your take on some of the mushrooms that are commonly considered to be great with seafood. What are your thoughts about lobster mushrooms, lion’s mane, and enoki, or anything else commonly considered to be a great mushroom for seafood? Do you consider some species of mushrooms to be better than others for seafood preparations?
Hank: I actually don't love dried lobster mushrooms, although fresh ones are nice. I also don't consider them overly great with seafood. I mean they're fine, but I think people get caught up in the mushroom's name more than its flavor. It does not taste at all like lobster. It's named that way because of its color. Lobster mushrooms are great in, say, lobster mac and cheese, but not because they're similar to lobster, but because they offer a meaty counterpoint. Lion's mane is well known to act like crab. It does taste crabby, and flakes like it, too. So that one does work well for vegetarian crab dishes. Enoki are so pretty and delicate they beg to be used in gentle dishes, like butter poached walleye or sole, or fish steamed in parchment.
If you are a forager, there's a shrimp russula that really is shrimpy, and several edible amanita species work very well with seafood, but you really have to know your stuff with those.
One last bit I'd like to mention is stock: Matsutake and yellowfoot chanterelles added to a fish stock are awesome. Hell, even button mushrooms add a lot to a stock. They can boost the umami of the broth without darkening it like, say, a morel.
Matt: I’m glad that you mentioned combining fish and mushrooms in stock, what a great idea! Delicious stock is the backbone to many of my favorite recipes and I never considered the synergy of using wild mushrooms in fish stock. I know what I’ll be doing with my next harvest of matsutakes.
Hank, thanks for exploring this concept with me. I hope our readership takes the time to check out some of the recipes of yours that I’ve linked to in this article!
Trout with morel mushrooms
Photo by Holly A. Heyser