Okay, guys, you are in for a treat! This is one of my (and my family’s!) all-time favorites in our entire arsenal of recipes. Delicate, yet remarkably filling, and ridiculously easy to make, it is a powerhouse of nutrition and flavor.

Now (wouldn’tchaknowit), while the original recipe on pbs.org (by brilliant chef Marc Matsumoto) is so delicious I want to scream, it also requires several hours of prep, and the ingredients can be quite expensive and difficult to source if you don’t have a readily-available Asian market. It’s a beautiful recipe for a calm-and-leisurely day off, when you got to sleep in until 11, and have just enough time now to finish that novel before you rush off to get your nails done. We will (fingers crossed) all have a day like that in our lives, but for me, today is not that day.

I simplified the recipe a bit for the sake of easy shopping and weekday cooking (should take you about 40 minutes, between active and inactive time), and added some arugula because I freaking love it. While the notes of flavors are not quite as complex, the result is still wonderful. I’ve made notes throughout the recipe regarding mushroom types, for example (there’s no point to being super organized and ready if you simply don’t have the awesome ingredients you need available to you!), and you can feel free to try the original recipe when you do have a little extra time to spare (it really is quite lovely, and easy to make, if you have the ingredients and the time).

But the main point I will make is this: do not skip the truffle oil. It is proportionally more expensive than regular ol’ olive, but you only need to buy a very small quantity, and its flavor is the heart of the recipe, particularly with the switcharoos we’re pulling on the mushrooms. In a pinch, you can also use truffle salt, though I prefer to control the taste of the truffle separately from that of the salt.

Finally, as chef Matsumoto suggests, if you don’t do eggs, you can always slice an avocado on top of the salad and call it a day.

*walks away from the keyboard feebly, leaving a trail of drool behind*

 

[yumprint-recipe id=’39’] 

OHMYFREAKINGLORD.

 

Because You Still Need to Eat