Mushroom Rösti from Cooking with Mushrooms + Drummer De'Mar Hamilton
Good smelling things, Mushroom Rösti, and more!
This week, I’m sharing a recipe with the two best food groups: potatoes and mushrooms. And a Things That Freaked My Week with Grammy-nominated drummer De’Mar Hamilton.
Normally, this email would be for paid subscribers…but today it’s for everyone! I love this book/recipe (and our guest) so much, I wanted all to see.
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Alright, let’s get to the goodies below!
*P.S. There’s no Scandoval news in this newsletter, because I wasn’t sure how many of you watch garbage TV like me. Just know that I’m deeply invested - and this was a favorite a friend sent me (Timothée Chalamet as James Kennedy!).
Mushroom Rösti with Herby Salad from Cooking with Mushrooms
THIS BOOK IS SO GOOD. It’s not just about the recipes, it’s about the whole cooking lifestyle that author Andrea Gentl is bringing with this book.
Since receiving Cooking With Mushrooms a couple weeks ago, I’m deep in it. I went on a hunt for harder-to-find mushrooms (if you’re in the Carolinas, Low Country Fungi is pretty amazing), dried my own mushrooms to make mushroom powder, and today I’m even making a mushroom miso paste (with my dried mushroom powder). Who am I?!
This is not my typical kitchen style. I generally like my cooking to be as easy as possible – I won’t track down ingredients and don’t have the patience for fermenting and drying things. But this book has put some sort of spell on me.
Mushroom Rösti with Herby Salad from Cooking With Mushrooms by Andrea Gentl
Serves 4
Rösti
2 pounds (910 g) Yukon Gold potatoes (about 3 medium)
1 tablespoon plus a pinch of Himalayan pink salt
½ pound (225 g) mixed fresh shiitake and oyster mushrooms
1 cup (40 g) coarsely chopped fresh herbs, such as mint, oregano, and chives
1 tablespoon salted capers, rinsed and patted dry
1 garlic clove, finely grated with a microplane
½ teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
4 tablespoons ghee (I used a vegan butter)
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Herby salad
½ cup (15 g) torn fresh herbs, such as mint, oregano, and chives
Flaky sea salt, such as Maldon
Finely grated zest and juice of ½ lemon, preferably organic
Coarsely ground black pepper
Make the rösti: Wash and peel the potatoes. Using the largest holes of a box grater, shred the potatoes into a large bowl. Add 1 tablespoon of the pink salt and mix again. Let sit for 10 to 15 minutes to release liquid.
Working in batches, squeeze excess liquid from the potato mixture and transfer to a dry bowl. Repeat the process three times, discarding the liquid and transferring to a dry bowl.
Stem the shiitakes and thinly slice the caps; coarsely chop the oyster mushrooms. Place the mushrooms in a bowl (reserve the stems for stock) and add the chopped herbs, capers, grated garlic, a pinch of pink salt, and the pepper. Toss to combine and let sit for 15 minutes. Squeeze out any liquid (sometimes mushrooms will release a ton of water, sometimes none at all).
Combine the mushrooms with the potatoes, using your hands to mix thoroughly. Let the mixture sit for 10 minutes; repeat the water squeezing process once or twice, until there is no liquid left.
In a nonstick medium skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of the ghee and 1 tablespoon of the oil over medium-low heat until shimmering. Add the potato-mushroom mixture and press into an even layer. Cover and cook until the underside is nicely browned, 15 to 20 minutes (you are steaming the mushrooms and potatoes while crisping the bottom). Turn the pan intermittently to keep the cooking even. When the bottom is crisp, invert the rösti onto a plate. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons ghee and 1 tablespoon oil to the skillet and slide the rösti back into it, uncooked side down. Cook over medium-low heat, turning the pan to cook evenly, until the underside is browned and crisp, 15 to 20 minutes. It should be the color of almost burnt toast. The mushrooms will get darker than the potatoes as they caramelize. Slide the rösti onto a plate for serving.
Make the herby salad: Toss the torn herbs with a little flaky salt, the lemon zest, a squeeze of lemon juice, and some black pepper.
Top the rösti with the salad and serve.
Some kitchen notes:
This recipe calls for a medium-sized non-stick skillet. Do that. I used a large cast iron pan and the size and weight of the pan made the recipe much more difficult to make.
I could not find oyster mushrooms and used shiitake and baby Bellas and it turned out great!
Excerpted from Cooking with Mushrooms by Andrea Gentl (Artisan Books). Copyright © 2022.
The Things That Freaked My Week With De’Mar Hamilton
Our guest: De’Mar Hamilton is a Grammy-nominated drummer and musician. He’s the longtime drummer for The Plain White Tees and is currently working on two new music projects with a group of Los Angeles artists and musicians.
De’Mar and I met a little over a decade ago, when I briefly worked for a guy in a famous pop-punk boy band (we’ll call him P). On my first day working for P, he invited me to dinner at a grilled cheese restaurant (remember those?) with a group of his old friends from Chicago. I sat across the table from one of those old friends (De’mar), and we ended up talking the whole time. That job with P didn’t last long, but my friendship with De’Mar is still going strong.
I was excited to see De’Mar’s picks and was hoping he included some scents. He (and his home) always smells good. And the smell always stays (I put on a scent and it’s gone in five minutes). Lucky for us, he included two scents on his list – and based on his past smell history, you can trust they’ll be perfect.
Here’s De’Mar’s Picks:
Kuumba Incense
I am a big fan of incense and you could say I’m somewhat of a collector. I love this brand from Tokyo – the branding and that they have so many varieties of scents. Some are somewhat unusual and don’t smell like anything else. You buy in the US here.
Flatbush Misdemeanors
I felt like this was one of the most underrated TV shows of all time. It’s smart and funny, but unfortunately Showtime didn’t renew them for a 3rd season. It also has Hassan Johnson from The Wire in it, and he really shines in it.
Martine Ali
Martine is a jewelry designer from Brooklyn who makes great silver chain jewelry. She makes everything from necklaces, rings, bracelets, and even purses. It’s great to watch her grow and innovate herself.
Heavyweight
I was put on to this podcast by someone I met on my travels to Australia. It’s been around for a few years and you are probably already aware of it, but I can’t get enough. Listening to these stories of peoples’ lives and difficult situations has really enlightened me.
Aesop Hwyl
I never thought this would be a scent for me because I usually gravitate towards more of the citrus scents. I feel more sophisticated when I wear it and for some reason it reminds me of my childhood.
Scenes From A Bedroom Chair
I have this chair next to my bed that serves as a night stand and is always a perfect snapshot of life at the moment aka content I used to share on social and now sharing here.
This week it includes:
• My new-ish thyroid medicine (my Hashimoto’s finally went into med-land)
• My makeup bag with a used EO deodorant wipe wrapper
• A copy of Milk Fed my friend Em sent me (how am I so late to this book?)
• Some reading glasses that look terrible on me (still figuring out my glasses-style)
• Cap Beauty’s new Serotoner. Speaking of smells…it’s a good one.
• A blanket fresh from the dryer that I just dyed pink to cover up an old blood stain (it worked!)
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