Lion's Mane Mushrooms have been in the food and health spotlight for over a year. If you haven't tried them, you may be missing out on more than just one heck of a flavorful, gourmet fungi. It's understated seafood-like flavor (often likened to lobster or crab), is not only delicious, but it is also said to have anti-inflammatory effects which may benefit mental function and reduce symptoms of dementia, anxiety, and depression. Who doesn't want more brain food!?!
After reading so much about this magical mushroom, I decided to give it a go and make Lions Mane Crab Cakes! I was delightfully impressed by the subtle crab-like flavor and texture.
Ingredients
1/4 pound dried Lion's Mane Mushrooms finely chopped (this will equal about 1 lb once re-hydrated)1 cup large Yellow or White Onion, finely diced
6 Cloves Diced Garlic
1/4 cup Diced Red Sweet Peppers
3/4 cup Panko Bread Crumbs
2 large Chicken Eggs, beaten
3 tbsp Diced Parsley
3/4 tbsp Sea Salt or to taste
Black Pepper to taste
2 tbsp Butter, softened to room temperature. This is mixed into the patties prior to cooking. Butter your pan separately as-needed.
A dash Cayenne Pepper (to add a hint of heat)
Ahi Tuna Aioli
2 tbsp Ahi Tuna Rub4 Cloves of Garlic Minced
1 cup Mayonnaise
Mix all ingredients and season to taste. Cover and refrigerate while cooking your cakes.
Instructions
Re-hydrating Lion's Mane Mushrooms: Place mushrooms in a large bowl and cover with warm water. Let soak for 30 minutes. Drain and slice in 1/4 inch slices and squeeze the water out. If you notice the centers are still hard, add back to warm water for another 5 minutes. I like to throw a slice in just for fun to see it expand so rapidly! Squeeze out excess water and finely chop.
Place diced Lion's Mane, onions, and sweet peppers into lightly oiled skillet and sweat for about 15 minutes on low heat, stirring regularly. The aim is to remove almost all the water from the ingredients, otherwise your crab cakes won't hold together. After 15 minutes, add garlic and sweat for another 5 minutes until no water remains in pan and ingredients are lightly browned. Remove from stove and let cool in bowl for 15-20 minutes.
(To save time, I skipped this first step mixing all of the ingredients together. Yes, some of my cakes didn't stay together but I saved the sauteed crumbles for a delicious stir fry the next day. I just added a dash of low-sodium soy sauce! The crumbles would have made delicious 'non-fish' tacos as well.)
Add all other ingredients into bowl and stir together. Then mush ingredients together by hand for a few minutes until thoroughly consolidated.
Form and cook a single test cake before making an entire batch. You want to make sure the moisture levels are just right and that the cakes will hold together.
Tips: Let cakes gel together for 5 minutes before cooking. Cook a test cake in a buttered skillet on low heat. If the test cake comes apart in the pan, you'll want to add more beaten egg and bread crumbs then cook the whole batch!
Recipe adapted from tyrantfarms