mushroom pasta ?

[SheLovesToEat]

ok i just got back from my favorite asian market and they had these lovely enioki mushrooms. the are long and slender like strings of pasta.

so my question is. if i wanted to use them for pasta ...what could i do to soften then so they are limp like a strand of spaghetti?

would putting olive oil over them do it? i dont want a vinager taste but they would make SUCH a great pasta with a garlicky raw tomato sauce over them...IF i can get them to behave like pasta LOL.

ANY SUGGESTIONS?

thanx

[Crazy Healer Lady]

A marinade with any sort of acid will give them a cooked texture. Garlicky raw tomato sauce sounds perfect ^_^ Just marinate them in the sauce for a few hours at room temperature :)

[SheLovesToEat]

A marinade with any sort of acid will give them a cooked texture. Garlicky raw tomato sauce sounds perfect ^_^ Just marinate them in the sauce for a few hours at room temperature :)

wow GREAT! thats interesting. i didnt think the sauce would be the thing to soften them but wonderful! i'll try it.
would adding olive oil to the sauce ruin the ability of the sauce to soften them? i can wait to add the oil at the end if it would?

it just sounds like a really good meal to have these mushrooms work as pasta.

thanx

[greenfeline]

Are they dried or just raw and kind of hard? If they are dry you can soak them in warm water. For raw mushrooms, salt will soften them. Rinse and sprinkle with salt and stir gently to coat. The salt will break down the cell walls. If you put a lot of salt you can always rinse and use less or no salt in the sauce. Lemon juice will also tenderize.

[SheLovesToEat]

Are they dried or just raw and kind of hard? If they are dry you can soak them in warm water. For raw mushrooms, salt will soften them. Rinse and sprinkle with salt and stir gently to coat. The salt will break down the cell walls. If you put a lot of salt you can always rinse and use less or no salt in the sauce. Lemon juice will also tenderize.

they are lovely raw mushrooms, long and slender and just right to make into pasta if i can make them do it. thanks for the suggestion....i'll try that one too

[greenfeline]

Oh, if you do salt them you should probably rinse them after. If it works right they will start sweating then you rinse them.:)

[Crazy Healer Lady]

I'm not sure about the oil, actually! It might coat the mushrooms and prevent the acid from softening the mushrooms, but then I've seen many marinades with oil in them. As long as it's not a whole lot, it should be fine. If you want to play it safe you can add after, too, but I really think it should be OK.