Truthfully, it’s always interesting, but today I found myself in a corner that I don’t usually frequent, and there I found what appeared to be the World’s Largest Mushroom (I think it deserves capitals!)
This HALF of the original Puffball – the other half went to a Vegan Fair!
And here’s my slice!
Seamus, who owns the farm where it grew, was selling it in slices. He told me that these Giant Puffballs (Calvatia Gigantea – for those who want to look it up) have been growing on his family’s farm since he was a child. It was only recently that he’d heard that it was edible, so his wife had taken half of it to a Vegan Fair in Derry, while he was selling slices of the other half in Belfast!
Naturally I had to have some, so I bought a slice (vegans use it as pizza base) and nibbled a bit – I was amazed to discover that it tasted like non-sweet marshmallow! It’s definitely a mushroom though, because you can certainly taste that too.
Off I went, to spend a happy half-hour on the internet finding out all about my Giant Puffball, and some recipes to try..
And that’s how we came to have Giant Puffball Parmigiana with our dinner this evening!
https://eatingforireland.com/recipe/giant-puffball-parmigiana/
I cooked a few extra little bits, just in the oil/butter mixture, and had them as ‘Cook’s Treats’ while I was making dinner, and they were delicious.
The Parmigiana treatment made me realise why it’s such a popular choice as a vegan Pizza Base – I’m not a huge fan of Pizza, but I’d definitely eat it if the base tasted like this. I’m certainly going to try to get some more of this – my friend Julie said that she thought she has one growing at home – Seamus says they like Nettle patches best!
I started writing down recipes in an old copybook when I was about 16. With 6 children at home, my Mother was always glad of a hand in the kitchen, and really allowed us to experiment - as long as we washed up afterwards, and left the kitchen immaculate! Having a tidy kitchen has followed me through my life, as has the habit of writing down my favourite recipes; except that these days I write them for my website, and add photographs when I can. The website really started when it occurred to me that my daughter might like to have these recipes when I've forgotten them. In my early days of cooking for family and friends, I used to phone my Mum all the time to ask her for the recipe for some of our favourite family dinners. She rarely had a recipe to hand - I think, like me, she made a lot of it up as she went along.. So welcome to Eating for Ireland - these are the recipes that my friends and family having been eating these past 40 years.. yes, I truly am ancient! They are tried and tested, and have worked for me for all that time - I have updated them as new ingredients became available - I really hope you'll find something that you can make into a family favourite of your own. You don't have to tell anyone where you found these great new dishes that you're serving up - it can be our little secret, but I'd really love it if you could give me a sneaky 'follow' on Facebook and Instagram.. So off you go - have a good rummage around, you're bound to find something new! My sincere thanks to all of you who have found a recipe that you liked and dropped me a line to tell me - I really do love to hear from you! Happy Cooking! Becks xx