DIGEST: Shimeji Mushrooms for Breakfast 🍄

A Shakshuka recipe one MUST try 🍳🥫

I can't deny, 70% of the time I'm a sweet breakfast kinda gal. In the winter, my go-to is porridge of some kind; oatmeal, amaranth, millet or cornmeal porridge. What can I say — I love the smooth baby food-like texture and energy from complex carbs, and my gut has no complaints. And, for the sake of a calm gut, I stick to smoothies and Greek yoghurt topped with berries and homemade granola in the summer, when my body can handle the coldness and cooling nature of these meals. 

In the transitory seasons, I incorporate room-temperature overnight oats or chia pudding topped with nuts, seeds and fruit. If time permits, I stew apples or pears to make these meals energetically warmer. (This year, I can't get enough of pears.) 

And then, 30% of the time, I opt for a savoury breakfast, usually an egg-centric; omelette or scrambled egg served with Sourdough toast or rye bread or in ciabatta. Sometimes, I forego eggs, but I desire a bit of protein. That's when I go down the hummus, white bean spread, or ricotta on sourdough toast route. I build on either of these foundations with ingredients like sautéed mushrooms, cherry tomatoes, kimchi, etc.

When I can, I make a big deal out of breakfast and conjure up a fry-up or shakshuka with a healthy spin on it, meaning I may forgo any pork products, such as bacon, sausage, chorizo, in favour of delicacy mushrooms like oyster, shiitake, or shimeji, which is what I threw into today's Shakshuka recipe. 

Garlicky shimeji mushroom Shakshuka 

This was a delight, and I still think about it today. Since becoming a mushroom lover in spring 2012, I have branched out beyond portobello, which initially developed my taste for fungi. So when I venture into health food stores or East Asian grocers and spot culinary varieties like shiitake, shimeji, and enoki, I can't leave without some. 

I also picked up Mutti's finely chopped tomatoes and freshly baked sourdough ciabatta from my health food store for this meal. You can use any chopped or plum tomatoes (crush them first), but I find the concentration of actual tomatoes is higher in the finely chopped varieties. And sourdough ciabatta — need I say more… okay, I will. Sourdough with salty butter does something to the pleasure centre of my brain, and ciabatta is a suitable vessel for hearty stews. 

Shakshuka is an Arab Maghreb (North African) dish of eggs poached in a sauce of tomatoes, olive oil, peppers, onion, and garlic, commonly spiced with cumin, paprika and cayenne pepper. I, like many, love to put my spin on it, and this time, I slightly steered away from the spiced element (I left out cumin) and added shimeji mushrooms, which provide that umami element and meaty texture. 

Shimeji mushroom is a nutrient powerhouse like many eastern varieties. Besides being a source of protein, fibre, vitamin D2, B vitamins and minerals (calcium, iron and potassium), it has anti-cancer, anti-fungal, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antibacterial and cholesterol-lowering properties. This is what we mean when we say food is medicine!

Besides the mushrooms, the flavour builders are the red peppers, garlic (lots of it as it's a main character in this dish), and celery, a well-known culinary gem for flavour, which I'm now a fan of. 

This step is optional, but to 10x on flavour, stick in a stock cube. I had beef on hand, but vegetable varieties (especially mushrooms) are just as good. 

Don't forget to finish with herbs for a fresh twist! Basil worked great to skew it in the Italian direction.

My preference for eggs is organic, especially when I'm fine dining. But choose what works for you. 

THE RECIPE