Glazed Maitake with Smoked...Glazed Maitake with Smoked Parsnip Silk and Black Garlic Dashi

A refined celebration of forest umami featuring wood-roasted maitake mushrooms glazed in aged tamari reduction, served atop a velvet-smooth smoked parsnip emulsion and finished with tableside-poured black garlic-kombu dashi and fragrant spruce pine oil.

Ingredients

Cooking Instructions

1. 01

   Prepare the herb oil: Blanch the pine needles (or rosemary) in boiling water for 10 seconds, immediately shock in ice water, squeeze completely dry, and blend with 60ml of rapeseed oil at 60°C in a high-speed blender for 5 minutes. Pass through an ultra-fine coffee filter and chill over ice.

2. 02

   Craft the dashi base: Combine 500ml filtered cold water, dried kombu, and dried shiitake mushrooms in a saucepan. Bring slowly to 65°C over 20 minutes; remove kombu just before boiling. Simmer the shiitake for 15 minutes more, then strain through cheesecloth.

3. 03

   Infuse the dashi: Whisk the black garlic cloves into 200ml of the hot mushroom dashi using an immersion blender until emulsified. Season with 15ml tamari and a splash of mirin; maintain at a warm holding temperature.

4. 04

   Cook and smoke the parsnips: Simmer the sliced parsnips in oat milk with a pinch of sea salt until fork-tender (approx. 15 minutes). Drain, reserving the cooking liquid. Using a handheld smoking gun or a covered perforated pan with ignited hay/wood chips, smoke the cooked parsnip pieces for 5 minutes.

5. 05

   Purée to silk: Transfer the smoked parsnips to a high-speed blender with 30g plant butter and just enough warm oat milk liquid to yield a glossy, mirror-smooth purée. Season carefully with fine salt, pass through a fine chinois, and keep warm.

6. 06

   Make the reduction glaze: In a small saucepan, combine the remaining 30ml tamari and 30ml mirin. Reduce over gentle heat until a syrupy consistency coats the back of a spoon.

7. 07

   Roast the maitake: Heat a cast-iron skillet with a thin film of oil over medium-high heat. Sear the maitake clusters cut-side down, using a parchment sheet and a heavy weight on top to ensure even caramelization for 3-4 minutes. Flip, baste with the tamari glaze, and roast in an oven preheated to 200°C (400°F) for 6 minutes until edges are deeply crisp and fragrant.

8. 08

   Plating: Spoon a generous pool of smoked parsnip silk into the center of four warm shallow presentation bowls. Perch a glazed maitake cluster off-center atop the purée. Garnish delicately with wood sorrel. At the table, pour the warm black garlic dashi around the purée and split the dashi with droplets of vibrant green pine oil.