A complex, satisfying vegetarian dish with smoky mushrooms and a bright puree of lovage.
Grilled Oyster Mushroom Kebabs with Lovage Puree
This dish was inspired by the author’s travels in South America, where he fell in love with the smoky, juicy flavors of Argentinian barbecue. The mushrooms are seasoned with sumac and cooked slowly over charcoal, resulting in a flavor that’s as juicy, smoky, and almost as meaty as tender costillas. The mushrooms are served atop a bright puree of lovage, a minerally, almost salty green that tastes like a mix between overgrown parsley and celery leaves.
Ingredients
- 1 pound oyster mushrooms
- Grapeseed oil for coating
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 1 teaspoon ground sumac, plus more for dusting
- 2 tablespoons Lovage Puree
Directions
- Slice the mushrooms off the cluster, leaving a very small amount of stem intact. Using a metal or soaked wooden skewer, thread the mushrooms through the stem, gill-side down, alternating the tops of the mushrooms from left to right, so they cook evenly. You should end up with two full skewers with about fourteen mushrooms on each.
- Brush the mushrooms with a generous amount of oil to coat, making sure to oil the gills. Then lightly season with the salt, pepper, and ½ teaspoon of the sumac per skewer.
- Preheat a charcoal grill to medium heat.
- Place the mushrooms directly on the grill and cook, flipping the skewers every 2 minutes, for 8 to 14 minutes total, until the edges start to curl and brown, the mushrooms have shrunk significantly, and the stems are soft to the touch. The water will drip from the mushrooms onto the coals to create the smoke that will give them that smoky flavor.
- When ready to serve, spread the lovage puree evenly over the center of a plate. Lightly dust the puree with the sumac and place the mushroom skewers on top.
- Make sure to season the mushrooms only lightly with salt; they shrink a lot when they cook, concentrating the salty flavor. You can always add a bit of finishing salt at the end.