Pan-Seared Maitake with Smoked...Pan-Seared Maitake with Smoked Sunchoke Velouté and Black Garlic Emulsion

A sophisticated celebration of woodland earthiness featuring caramelized maitake clusters rested over a velvety smoked sunchoke purée, balanced with sweet fermented black garlic, pickled mustard seeds, and vibrant chive chlorophyll oil.

Ingredients

Cooking Instructions

1. 01

   Prepare the pickled mustard seeds: In a small saucepan, blanch mustard seeds in boiling water for 1 minute, drain, and repeat twice to remove bitterness. Return seeds to the pan with champagne vinegar, maple syrup, and a pinch of salt. Simmer gently for 15 minutes until plumped and tender. Set aside to cool.

2. 02

   Make the chive oil: Blanch chives in boiling salted water for 10 seconds, then immediately shock in ice water. Squeeze out all excess moisture completely. Blend on high speed with grapeseed oil at 60°C for 3 minutes until smooth and bright green. Strain through an ultra-fine coffee filter without pressing; reserve clear green oil.

3. 03

   Prepare the black garlic glaze: Purée black garlic cloves with tamari, 30ml warm water, and 5ml champagne vinegar in a high-speed blender until glossy and fluid. Pass through a fine sieve and transfer to a small squeeze bottle.

4. 04

   Cook the smoked sunchoke velouté: In a medium saucepan, sweat half the shallots in 15g vegan butter over low heat until translucent. Add sliced sunchokes and cook for 5 minutes without browning. Add oat milk and 150ml water, bring to a low simmer, cover, and cook until sunchokes are completely tender (about 20 minutes). Transfer to a blender, blend until silky and emulsified, season with sea salt, and infuse with a brief smoke gun treatment (or a micro-drop of smoked oil).

5. 05

   Sear the maitake: Heat a heavy cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat with 15ml grapeseed oil. Place the maitake steaks cut-side down, weighting them lightly with a parchment-lined chef press to ensure maximum contact. Sear for 4–5 minutes until deeply caramelized and crisp. Flip, add remaining vegan butter and fresh thyme sprigs, and baste the mushrooms continuously for 3 minutes until tender and deeply aromatic.

6. 06

   Plating: Spoon a pool of warm smoked sunchoke velouté onto the center of four pre-warmed plates. Rest a seared maitake steak prominently on top. Dot the plate with black garlic glaze, spoon pickled mustard seeds over the mushroom ridges, split the velouté with drops of vibrant green chive oil, and finish with flaky Maldon sea salt.