Recipe: brown mushrooms, spiced (berbere, kurkuma, and oregano)

RECIPE 2:

Brown mushrooms

(I never really disliked eating mushrooms, and ate it on occasion, both when I still lived with my parents, and in restaurants when travelling.

I always thought - however - that the bare white mushrooms needed something. The taste was not bad or irritating, but rather bland. In my Spanish culture it got sprinkled with olive oil, which helps a bit.

I got more ideas when I ordered it in a nice restaurant in the North-Spanish region of Cantabria (Santander), as I avoided the fish or meat on the menu, I chose the mushrooms, almost by default. I ended up enjoying it, though, in that restaurant (in a town called Castro Urdiales). It was well spiced up. It might have included olive oil, but I seemed to taste oregano and peppers too.

I decided to make my own, a bit more tropical variant (mixed with Mediterranean influences).

I tried the brown mushrooms I found in an organic store in Amsterdam, and liked the taste better (more "nuttier") than the white ones. They call those brown ones "kastanje champignons" in Dutch, literally translatable as "chestnut mushrooms" by the way. The Netherlands are one of the world's biggest mushroom producers in the world, quite remarkable for a small country, but it is a well-organized and wealthy country. My mother sometimes joked about the difference with her native Spain: "here in the Netherlands, every square meter is used/taken advantage of (economically or otherwise)".. This has to do with economics, technological advancement, as well as with the favourable climate, of course. Not much "wild", uninhabitable, and untouched areas left in the Netherlands. They try to create some natural areas, still.

Be that as it may, the brown mushrooms taste nice, a bit better and less "watery" than the white ones (in my opinion), a bit more "nutty" too, but all in all neither overly impressive. It still could use some nice and healthy spices. After some experiments I came up with this nice-tasting, spicey dish.)

Brown mushrooms, spiced (berbere, kurkuma, and oregano):

Ingredients (if possible all organic):

-One amount of brown mushrooms, about 5 big ones per person, each cut in slices

-Berbere spice mix (Ethiopian)

-Oregano powder

-Curcumin (turmeric) powder

-Sunflower oil (or better: coconut oil, virgin olive oil)

-Olive oil

Fry the sliced mushrooms in sunflower oil, and sprinkle it early on with some olive oil. Entirely (virgin) olive oil would be better than sunflower oil, but tends to be more expensive in non-olive producing countries (like Spain). Sunflower oil is therefore a good alternative.

Make sure you turn the slices around while frying, to get the parts evenly fried and not burned too much.

After sprinkling with olive oil, you can add the Berbere spice mix, from the Ethiopian cuisine. This spice mix includes commonly black pepper, garlic, nutmeg, cinnamon, onions, coriander, pimento, chili, pepperseeds, cardemon, and ginger. It can be bought at Ethiopian/African stores, but more and more also in common organic food stores. It is spicey, but not too much, in my experience. Licking it off your fingers is still pleasant, is a way I can describe it. It depends on how it is made, though.

If not found, mixing some of these ingredients is also okay. Especially black pepper, cinnamon, garlic, and ginger combine well with each other, and with mushrooms.

After this, add some curcumin powder, which has a more mellow taste, as well as some oregano powder.

Oregano is related to mint, but is a bit sweeter taste-wise.

Along with the olive oil, it adds a "Mediterranean" touch to the whole. Mix the powdered spices with the mushrooms, by sprinkling and stirring.

Fry for a few minutes, until all mushroom sides get brown. At most 4 minutes is needed, in my opinion. Less is shakey (less healthy, bacteria-wise), and more than 5 minutes likewise (too burnt). So find the balance.

This will end up in spiced brown mushrooms with a full, spicey taste, also because mushrooms "absorb" outside tastes relatively well.

HEALTH ASPECTS

Mushrooms:

All mushrooms are known as healthy, and as relatively rich in Vitamin B, as well as in anioxidants. It helps heart health, red blood cells, and digestion. That it is rich in Vitamin B is extra interesting for vegetarians and vegans, as that Vitamin is relatively most found in meat and fish: some veggies lack that vitamin therefore a bit.. Mushrooms help to compensate that.

See:

https://www.healthline.com/health/food-nutrition/are-mushrooms-good-for-you

Berbere's ingredients all have proven health benefits, notably garlic, cinnamon, ginger, and black pepper. Black pepper helps digesting mushrooms better, research showed, being therefore good in this specific dish.

https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/black-pepper-benefits

Curcumin has several proven health benefits (antioxidant and antiflammatory), and was even known for its medicinal properties in India.

Oregano is also known as healthy, and as having several science-based health benefits. It is rich in antioxidants, potent antibacterial properties, and - interestingly - may reduce viral infection, as research shows.

(Virgin) olive oil and coconut or avocado oil are -health-wise - somewhat preferable to sunflower or peanut oil, but unfortunately often more expensive.

https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/11-proven-benefits-of-olive-oil

TASTE AND EFFECT

You should not eat too much of such spiced mushrooms at once, since it is hearty, and has a "full" taste. Mushrooms do digest not as easily as other foods, though mixing it with peppers and spices helps. It tastes nice and "sharp", though, leaving a pleasant and fulfilling sensation behind in your belly. A sensation I would characterize as "warm".

As I made it here it is not very sweet, but rather hearty, though I still like the taste. I personally do not like "overly sweet" food or dishes.

It combines well with fruits or fruity juices, as a nice "fresher" and "sweeter" contrast.