Photo by by Annaliese Bischoff
Provenance of Dish
This is a sauce I first made to go with a chicken schnitzel. After growing Lion's Mane at home, I thought I would try this simple mole sauce with them.
Recipe
Ingredients
3/4 pound fresh or canned red cherries, pitted and halved
1 cup red wine (pinot noir or Malbec)
1 cup broth (mushroom or chicken, homemade if possible)
1 teaspoon fresh ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon fresh grated nutmeg
1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
1 juniper berry
1 bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon acacia honey
1-2 tablespoons real maple syrup
pinch of salt
1 tablespoon arrowroot (or 2 tbl. of cornstarch)
sprigs of thyme for garnish
1 pound lion’s mane, sliced into medallions about ½ inches thick
Glug of extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
For the sauce:
Combine the wine with the vinegar, half the maple syrup, honey, spices, salt, and cocoa. For a savory use pour in the broth. Add the cherries and bring them to a simmer in a sauce pan.
Mix the arrowroot (or cornstarch) with the remaining maple syrup. Then stir in this mixture to thicken the mole. Simmer until you achieve the thickness you like. Keep warm.
For the steaks:
Fry the mushroom slices without oil with a medium-high temperature. Fry for 5 minutes or until the mushrooms are reduced in volume.
Add some olive oil and continue frying the slices over a medium-high temperature until golden and crisp.
Spoon the sauce over the mushroom steaks and serve with rice or farro. Garnish with thyme.
