TRUFFLE MUSHROOM PANZANELLA

A little variation on the traditional panzanella salad. Using kale, toasted bread, mushroom, cauliflower and truffle cream! This is actually quite a rich and luxurious salad, perfect for a dinner party, nice lunch or weeknight dinner. You’ll notice I steam fried the cauliflower instead of roasting this time. I love roasted cauliflower but thought a bit more bite would be a nice contrast to the mushrooms in this recipe. You can use pretty much any mushrooms for this. I used my GC white mushrooms and some oyster mushrooms I had already in the fridge.

550g mushroom

approx. 4 tbsp melted mild coconut oil

teaspoon fresh picked thyme

1 clove garlic, grated

1 tbsp white balsamic

60g bread

100g kale

1 tbsp olive oil

2 shallots

150g cauliflower

juice ½ lemon

25g sunflower seeds, toasted

salt and pepper to taste

Truffle cashew aioli

100g cashews – soaked for a minimum 4 hours or ½ quick soak using boiling water

1 tbsp white truffle oil

1 tsp Dijon

1 tbsp apple cider vinegar

1 lemon – the juice

1 clove garlic

50ml filtered water

pinch white pepper

salt to taste

Pre heat over 200 celcius.

Tear or cut mushrooms into even sized pieces, mix with 1 tbsp coconut oil, a pinch of salt, black pepper & thyme.   Spread out on a baking tray lined with parchment paper and roast for 25 minutes.

While the mushrooms are roasting prepare the rest of your ingredients. Tear your bread, mix with a tsp coconut oil, spread on a lined baking tray lined and toast for about 10 minutes until they start to become crispy and become golden.  Once ready set aside.

Make the cashew cream, blend all ingredients in high speed blender until smooth- about 2 minutes. Taste for seasoning and transfer to a jar or serving dish, this will make more than you need for the salad but it keeps well and is a great condiment to have in the fridge!  

Finely chop the kale and massage with a tablespoon of olive oil and the juice of half and a lemon.

Peel and slice your shallots and cut your cauliflower into bite size pieces. Heat a small frying pan, add 2 tbsp coconut oil. Add the shallots and cook for about 3-5 minutes until they become crispy but careful they don’t burn. Transfer to a plate lined with kitchen roll. In the same pan add your cauliflower and a splash of water.  Cook for about 10 minutes, you want the cauliflower to begin to golden on the outside and soften slightly but remain crunchy. You may need to add a splash more of the coconut oil and water if the pan becomes too dry. Transfer the shallots, cauliflower and bread to the bowl with your kale, season and mix.

Once the mushroom are ready, remove from the oven transfer to a bowl and mix with 1 clove grated garlic and your white balsamic, then transfer to mix through with your kale.

To serve take a tablespoon of the truffle cream and smudge across your serving plate. Top with salad and a sprinkle of sunflower seeds.