Christmas: Lion's Mane 'crab' cakes

A gave me a bag full of Lion's Mane for my birthday. A very thoughtful (and tasty) present. I managed to take it home with me from the party (after rescuing from a drunken food-marauder), and then decided it was appropriately fancy to become part of our Christmas meal.

When I cooked it previously I wasn't too enamoured of the texture of it just sauteed. Also, this bagful was quite wet. So roasting seemed to be a smart place to start. Then I remembered seeing that Mycoterra Farm (who grew them) often use them to make 'crab' cakes. So I looked up a recipe and thought this one (and this one) sounded like exactly the right kind of thing.

(makes six little cakes)

To roast:
200-400g (approx 1/2 lb) Lion's Mane
~2 tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic
salt+pepper

Rest of the cake ingredients:
2 tbsp vegan mayonnaise (used vegan cream cheese as we had some leftover from the birthday cake S made me)
1/2 tsp soy sauce
1 cup breadcrumbs
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
1 egg*
~ 1 tsp red wine vinegar
1 tbsp chopped parsley
1 tsp paprika
~ 2 tsp lemon juice
salt and pepper

coconut oil for frying

For the sauce:
3 tbsp vegan cream cheese (or vegan mayonnaise - reduce the lemon juice a bit if using)
1 tsp olive oil
1-2 tsp wholegrain mustard
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp white pepper
~1 tbsp cider vinegar
pea-sized blob of wasabi
few drops hot sauce
~1 tbsp lemon juice
salt and pepper

Heat the oven to 350F. Tear the Lion's Mane into little pieces and put in a roasting dish. Add the whole garlic cloves, olive oil, salt and pepper and roast for 30-40 min, until the garlic is cooked, much of the liquid has evaporated, and the mushroom is brown. Remove from the oven.

While the mushroom is in the oven you can make the sauce - mix the sauce ingredients together in a small bowl with a fork. Taste for salt, pepper and acid and check consistency.

Mix the Lion's Mane (and roasted garlic - be sure to chop and/or mash up so it can spread through the mixture) together with the remaining cake ingredients in a mixing bowl.  Shape into little round burger shapes.  Heat coconut oil in a frying pan over medium heat and cook the cakes until browned on both sides. Eat while hot.


These were quite successful. S really liked them (especially the sauce), and while the total prep might be a bit much for an average day, the roasting method seemed to be a good way of cooking the Lion's Mane - better than sauteeing.

*think linseed-water mixture would be a fine vegan substitute