Sparassis w/ Beef Tenderloin

By: Daniel Lucas

Dish: Meat / Fish
Season: Fall
Source: Original
Servings: 2
Need help? Read the guide

Ingredients

  • 12-16 oz Sparassis mushroom, roughly chopped
  • 1 medium onion
  • butter
  • 4 cups of beef broth
  • 1/8-1/4 cup heavy cream
  • 12 oz beef tenderloin, sliced into 1/4” strips
  • 6 oz cauliflower, chopped
  • 6 oz purple potatoes, cubed
  • fresh oregano, chopped
  • white wine
  • salt
  • pepper

Sparassis (also known as the Cauliflower Mushroom) is the queen of mushrooms. They grow in isolation at the base of fir or cedar deep in the forest, and a single mushroom is generally anywhere between 12-20 oz, so finding just a single Sparassis guarantees you a wonderful meal. Their flavor is earthy and floral (they smell absolutely amazing), and the texture is of similar consistency to egg noodles. Finding one generally means enduring a long, cold, and wet journey—long after you’ve realized you’ve gone way too far off the trail. In order to reward myself for this hard work, I splurge on some beef tenderloin and make what is essentially beef stroganoff, where the cauliflower mushrooms act as a more flavorful substitute for the noodles.

Even after spending countless hours in the woods, sometimes December hits and I’ve still not run into a single Cauliflower mushroom. Fortunately, Rick’s Mushrooms at the PSU farmers market has a consistent supply of these wonderful mushrooms all season long.

Method

  1. Process the Sparassis by quartering the entire head, then breaking it apart with your hands, then set aside.
  2. Boil the cauliflower in 2 cups of the beef broth, then blend to create a cauliflower paste, then set aside.
  3. Preheat the over to 425, then place the potatoes on a baking sheet and bake for ~20 minutes, or until mostly cooked, then set aside.
  4. Add the onion and butter to a medium pot and cook until the onions are well cooked, just starting to brown, but not burned. ~10-12 minutes.
  5. Add the Sparassis and a bit of fresh chopped oregano to the pot with the onion and butter, cook for ~5 minutes, then add ~1/4-1/2 cup of white wine and cook for until it’s at least half evaporated.
  6. Add the heavy cream and cook for another ~5 minutes.
  7. Add the cooked potatoes, 1 cup of cauliflower paste, 1 cup of broth to the mushroom mixture. Use the cauliflower paste and broth to balance the sauce to a thick, but fluid consistency.
  8. In a large cast iron skillet, heat a liberal amount of olive oil to just under its smoking point.
  9. Graciously salt the sliced tenderloin strips, then add them to the hot oil, and cook them for about ~30 seconds on each side. Depending on the heat and the thickness of your cut, this should take no more than 2 minutes for the tenderloin to be cooked medium-rare.
  10. Toss in the tenderloin to the mushroom sauce and mix thoroughly.
  11. Serve the Sparassis-Beef mixture with a pinch of additional chopped oregano.

Sparassis w/ Beef Tenderloin

By: Daniel Lucas

Sparassis (also known as the Cauliflower Mushroom) is the queen of mushrooms. They grow in isolation at the base of fir or cedar deep in the forest, and a single mushroom is generally anywhere between 12-20 oz, so finding just a single Sparassis guarantees you a wonderful meal. Their flavor is earthy and floral (they smell absolutely amazing), and the texture is of similar consistency to egg noodles. Finding one generally means enduring a long, cold, and wet journey—long after you’ve realized you’ve gone way too far off the trail. In order to reward myself for this hard work, I splurge on some beef tenderloin and make what is essentially beef stroganoff, where the cauliflower mushrooms act as a more flavorful substitute for the noodles.

Even after spending countless hours in the woods, sometimes December hits and I’ve still not run into a single Cauliflower mushroom. Fortunately, Rick’s Mushrooms at the PSU farmers market has a consistent supply of these wonderful mushrooms all season long.

Method

  1. Process the Sparassis by quartering the entire head, then breaking it apart with your hands, then set aside.
  2. Boil the cauliflower in 2 cups of the beef broth, then blend to create a cauliflower paste, then set aside.
  3. Preheat the over to 425, then place the potatoes on a baking sheet and bake for ~20 minutes, or until mostly cooked, then set aside.
  4. Add the onion and butter to a medium pot and cook until the onions are well cooked, just starting to brown, but not burned. ~10-12 minutes.
  5. Add the Sparassis and a bit of fresh chopped oregano to the pot with the onion and butter, cook for ~5 minutes, then add ~1/4-1/2 cup of white wine and cook for until it’s at least half evaporated.
  6. Add the heavy cream and cook for another ~5 minutes.
  7. Add the cooked potatoes, 1 cup of cauliflower paste, 1 cup of broth to the mushroom mixture. Use the cauliflower paste and broth to balance the sauce to a thick, but fluid consistency.
  8. In a large cast iron skillet, heat a liberal amount of olive oil to just under its smoking point.
  9. Graciously salt the sliced tenderloin strips, then add them to the hot oil, and cook them for about ~30 seconds on each side. Depending on the heat and the thickness of your cut, this should take no more than 2 minutes for the tenderloin to be cooked medium-rare.
  10. Toss in the tenderloin to the mushroom sauce and mix thoroughly.
  11. Serve the Sparassis-Beef mixture with a pinch of additional chopped oregano.

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